How Fate Bullied Sunako Nakahara
by Pony Juice
Summary: Sunako must join forces with her half-friend, half-rival, Kyohei, in order to discover that some sleeping dogs won't lie and trapping herself in the Yakuza's sticky web makes her one fry short of a Happy Meal. Rebellious bishounen ahoy! AU.
1. Once Upon A Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wallflower/Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. **

"Stubborn son-of-a-gun."

Somewhere in Tokyo, Japan, in a mansion of beauty and extravagance that adjectives could not even begin to do justice for, a teenage girl was kneeling before a priceless, cushioned chair said to have been sat on by an exhausted Marie Antoinette after giving birth to her first child, Marie.

A surgical mask fought off gene-mutating chemicals from entering the twitching nose of Nakahara Sunako; the very same chemicals she was using to rub out the stain in the cushioned seat. She even had her lab goggles over her squinting violet eyes and frustrated brow. A yellow, elbow-length gloved hand held a rag fashioned from an old skirt. The other gloved hand strangled the neck of cleaning fluid specifically designed for those pesky furniture stains.

Sunako sent a small prayer to Buddha that Auntie and last week's love of her life hadn't been making goat noises on this chair.

The milky color of the spot made her think her prayer was moot.

She shuddered at the memory. Let that be the last time she had midnight munchies when Auntie came home with a guy in tow.

Sunako shot a look at her watch - the one with skeletal hands pointing to maggot-shaped numbers.

"Crud." She was supposed to have been out of the house eleven minutes ago!

Sunako ripped the mask of her face and shoved the goggles into her school bag for later use in her oasis.

"I shouldn't have wasted time cutting bunny-shaped apple slices for lunch this morning." She grouched while shoving her feet into her shoes.

But in truth, Sunako was prepared to get to school early to avoid the crowded courtyard. If only she hadn't seen that stain on Auntie's favorite chair.

She couldn't leave it alone - like an abandoned anatomical doll in the rain or a pus-filled pimple just begging to be popped - like the ones she got after a long holiday in front of her television with nothing but junk-food to fortify her.

And what if that stain festered into a giant, mutated, Godzilla-monster and absorbed Auntie and the rest of Tokyo while she was away at school?

Or, even worse, what if it plunged deeper into the lovely material and forever shamed it in the eyes of the other spotless Nakahara furnishings?

Cleaning was, after all, an action Sunako did like breathing - it was second nature.

So she had found herself pimped out and ready to kill.

Of course _now _she'd need to consult the internet on how to get rid of the...ahem, _love _stain since fabric cleaner wasn't working.

So Nakahara Sunako skedaddled out with a half-assed, "Good morning" to her partially catatonic and hung-over aunt, who walked into the living room in a lovely lavender satin robe, rubbing her bleary eyes.

Sunako ran like she stole something. She ran like the devil was snapping at her heels. She ran like a bat out of hell.

And what good did running like a fool do her?

Sunako found herself with a vicious nosebleed at the hands of an unfamiliar tall blonde boy similarly running like a madman, swinging his bag like epileptic puppy was seizing in there. Then she bumped her head into his hard chest.

"Buddha, Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees!" Sunako clamped a hand over her nose, fingers searching for the hankie in her pocket. She made sure to glare her Elizabeth Taylor eyeballs at the idiot who hit her in the face with his school bag. "What the f-"

Sunako immediately regretted looking at the boy, who was eyeing her sourly and rubbing his chest.

"Damn, you got a hard-ass head,"

Damn. Even his voice was beautiful.

His hair was probably spun from Jason's Golden Fleece. His eyes were the color of tree bark and looked down at her just as hard. Every feature looked like God had spent an extra couple of hours sculpting and refining; down to his impeccably straight nose and his pink and pouty feminine lips.

This guy's body was tall and sinewy; with lean muscle that made her think he was a pimp.

Or a gangster.

Or both.

"You're what they call 'bishounen'," Sunako gasped in horror. Her voice sounded nasally from the hankie plugging her bleeding nostrils.

He gave her a funny look. "What the fuck are you looking at, ugly bitch?"

She rolled her eyes. As expected, the beautiful creatures always have unbearable personalities. The boy glared back at her.

"Don't flatter yourself. I just want an apology," She said waspishly.

"Oh _sure,_" He sneered. "I apologize, you ask me out for ramen, put roofies in my drink, and then I wake up and my ass feels sore-"

Sunako grew paler than her usual shade of bone-white. She put a hand up to shut him up

"No cute anecdotes. Just say sorry for swinging your bag into my face and frying my eyes with your face, so we can go our merry freaking way,"

"Hey, if you were watching where you were goin', I wouldn't have hit ya, so you can apologize for being a dumbass," As an after though, he scrunched his nose and asked, "And what the hell do you mean, 'frying your eyes' with my face?"

"I am not a dumbass! And don't you dare look me in the face with that disgustingly beautiful face of yours. It's nauseating,"

"_My _face is nauseating?" He clenched his fist and heatedly said, "You look like Cousin It!"

"Thank you. And here I was thinking you were going to insult me,"

"That was an insult," He grouched.

"You're an insult,"

"Your mom,"

"Is in Africa," Sunako stuck her nose in the air, hankie and all, narrowing her eyes at the boy towering over her with a curiosity and annoyance in his eyes. "Now we're both late and I still don't have an apology,"

"And you're not getting one,"

She exhaled, trying to steady her breathing and trying not to clock him in the face.

Then she promptly walked away.

"Wa-hey! I wasn't done talking to you,"

"I'm done talking to you," She muttered, "Might as well be talking to my toes,"

He ran up beside her, easily catching up with a couple long strides of his mile-long legs. Irritation arched his brow. He gritted his teeth and said, "I heard that."

They walked down the hallway together in silence. Sunako wondered why the boy was stomping in the same direction as she was.

"Are you lost?"

"Shut the fuck up."

_Well, fine. Follow me like a lost puppy_. She managed to staunch the bleeding before she got to class.

They simultaneously looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and thought, _What a weird kid. _

She opened the door to her homeroom, casting a suspicious look over her shoulder at the boy. He flipped her off.

Sunako frowned, but stepped into the classroom.

Her homeroom teacher was taking roll, but stopped and stared at the two students who walked in late.

"Nakahara-san, take a seat." Homeroom Teacher said stiffly.

His eyes widened when he saw the boy behind the dark girl.

The boy watched the girl walk down the aisle. He also watched students moving away, parting like she was Moses or something. More out of fear than respect.

"Takano-san?" Homeroom Teacher asked in awe.

"That's me," He muttered.

"Pl-Please, take a seat,"

Kids immediately began making eyes at him; the girls dusted their skirts and fluttered their lashes, casting longing looks at him and an empty seat next to them, if they were lucky enough. Even some boys were blushing.

He snorted. _Typical_.

Nakahara, was it? She was seated in the back of the room, fist under her jaw, staring out the window. She was like her own little island, since none of the other kids sat near her.

_Good. _

He drifted to the seat behind her and mimicked her pose.

Her spine grew rigid when she felt the Takano boy's eyes burn holes into the back of her head. Freddy Krueger, why did he have to sit behind her? Of all the seats in all of the class, he had to sit in the one nearest to her.

On top of his staring, the majority of the female population had murderous intent in their eyes and poor Sunako was the recipient of their wrathful glares.

"Class," Homeroom Teacher glanced at the new boy. "We have a new student,"

"Really?" Kyohei mumbled dryly. He heard a snort from the dark-haired girl, and his lips twitched into a smirk.

"Takano-san, please introduce yourself,"

The boy huffed - Sunako felt his breath by her neck, making her break out in goosebumps - and stood up noisily.

"My name's Takano Kyohei,"

Then he noisily sat back down.

The class murmured, darting looks at the tall bishounen moodily staring out the window in the back.

Homeroom Teacher fidgeted, then tightly smiled. "Thank you, Takano-san,"

He went back to taking roll.

"Nakahara Sunako?"

Kyohei watched the girl sitting in front of him raise her hand. He made a mental note of her name.

_Nakahara Sunako. _

She was moderately tall, taller than the other girls in the class. There was something very Japanese about her; she had the whole long-black-hair-and-pale-skin thing going on. It was refreshing, and he thought it suited her. He couldn't get a clear look at her face, thanks to the whole Cousin-It thing with her hair in face.

She kept squirming in her seat. Kyohei watched her with faint interest.

Then he felt vicious black smog coming from the girls in his class. He looked up in alarm, and saw every girl staring at Nakahara like she'd announced that she'd killed Santa.

_Oh, so _that's _why she's squirming. _

The angry, blood-thirsty bubble neared him when his fans noticed him staring openly at Nakahara.

"You think he's interested in _her?" _Kyohei's ears perked when he heard a girl harshly whisper to her friend.

"No way," Her friend replied, eyes still glued on Nakahara, who shifted uncomfortably. "Nakahara of all girls? She's not even that pretty."

Kyohei wanted to snort. Girls were so fucking petty. He rolled his eyes instead.

The girls instantly stopped talking and blushed in embarrassment when they saw him do so.

_"She's not even that pretty."_

She felt a pang of pity for herself. So her hair was long and neglected. So her skin wasn't flawless. So her body wasn't perfect.

Sunako didn't care.

Her face dropped, and she stared intently out the window. She really wanted to block out those stupid gossiping girls.

_And this is why I hate girls. _

Sunako thought of all the scary movies she would watch on the weekends instead. She mentally flicked through the titles.

_Rosemary's Baby. _

"Seriously, he belongs with a supermodel, not some freak like Nakahara."

_The Ring. _

"Or maybe with another bishounen."

_Ju-On. _

"It's no wonder she has no friends. She's so weird."

_Nightmare on Elm's Street. _

"Thank God I don't look like that."

_Friday the 13th._

"She couldn't get a boyfriend if her life depended on it."

_Audition._

"Only a face a mother could love." Giggling.

_Dawn of the Dead. _

"She's stupid, too. She failed like three math tests in a row."

_Return of the Living Dead. _

"No beauty or brains. What _can _she do?"

_Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hellraiser. The Exorcist. Brain Dead. _

Her fists were clenching and unclenching in her lap. Her bangs made a shield over her stinging eyes.

And suddenly she heard the scraping of a desk behind her.

Kyohei stalked to the desk in front of Nakahara. He sat down, heavily lashed eyes staring down anyone who so much as looked in his or Sunako's direction. Kyohei hunched his shoulders and made himself as imposing as he could, like he was trying to scare away a bear.

Mostly, he was trying to hide her from their view. God, those girls were like vultures.

The group of girls looking over their shoulders and talking about Sunako looked startled at the picture of the angry boy instead of the sulking girl.

Since they couldn't see her and hen-peck, they slowly turned their heads and shut up.

_About time they shut the hell up. _Kyohei sniffed. _What's their problem with her anyway?_

He casted a short glance over his shoulder at Sunako.

Kyohei saw her brows furrow like she was confused.

He turned back around.

* * *

><p>As expected, conversation revolving around the mysterious and handsome new student, Takano Kyohei, spread like wildfire.<p>

The hallways were ablaze with descriptive accounts of him.

About how tall he was. How blonde he was. How pretty he was.

"Man. Class hasn't even started yet and this shit is happening." The aforementioned Takano Kyohei grumbled. He squared his shoulders and walked with the air of a fighter.

_Fuck Math. I'm gonna take a nap. _

* * *

><p>Sunako ambled along the halls. She had Math now, but she hated math. Besides, she was failing tests left and right.<p>

_One of the perks of being rich_. She shrugged with a thoughtful expression.

So she slid open the doors of the Biology storage room and took a seat.

* * *

><p>Mad giggling. Kyohei furrowed his brow. He squashed his ear against the door of the Biology room. More giggling.<p>

He slowly lifted his head off the door and raised his brows. "Is someone gettin' it on in there or something?"

Kyohei was about to slide the door open, but then he remembered he had some sleeping to do on the roof.

With a shrug, he kept on walking.

* * *

><p>The bell for lunch rang when Sunako was cradling a little glass tank of a pickling dead piglet's heart.<p>

A frown fell onto her lips. She would have loved to eat lunch in her oasis, but the smells were offensive to her appetite.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She lovingly stroked the glass. Sunako shot saccharine smiles at the Biology room before she left for lunch on the roof.

"ARGH! MY EYES!"

_What a weird alarm clock. I don't think I changed the sound - _

Kyohei rolled onto his side. He rubbed his face, directing angry looks at the source of the banshee-like cry.

"Oh, it's you." He yawned.

"Who the fuck sparkles in their sleep? God!" Nakahara howled, fingers clawing her eyes.

"Nakahara," Kyohei growled. "I don't fucking sparkle. It's all in your twisted little head,"

He sat up and added under his breath, "Fucking nut,"

"Am not!" She stomped her foot, getting pink in the face.

Sunako grabbed at the fence surrounding the roof to steady herself. She had not expected that godly face lying on the roof, drooling a little, but otherwise sparkling like a goddamn fairy in the sunlight.

Sunako sat like a pretzel. She whipped out her bento box and plucked an apple slice with peels cut out like rabbit ears. Those little bastards were going first, for making her late this morning.

She heard a grumbling tummy, and it wasn't hers.

"I'm guessing you don't have lunch," She sighed. He was eyeing her food like it was the Messiah, sleep drool turning into hunger drool.

She shoved the box towards him.

"Aw, Nakahara," He snatched the bento box into his lap and began wolfing it down, the picture of chibi-fied happiness with hearts and bubbles in the background.

"Not all of it, fatty!" Sunako yelled and lunged for her lunch.

"Hey!"

"Share." She snapped.

Kyohei pouted, but agreed. Sunako set the box in front of her, so it was between them.

"Oh, man. This is amazing," He groaned, scooping piece of fried shrimp into his mouth. "I've never had shrimp this good,"

"You're sparkling again." She shaded her eyes.

"Shove it, Nakahara,"

"Let that be the last time I ever show any kindness towards an ass like you,"

"No - wait! I-I didn't mean it - hey, I thought we were sharing," Kyohei whined.

"You finished most of my lunch anyway." Sunako picked at the leftover bits of carrot in the potato salad.

Kyohei turned his nose up at the carrots. "I hate carrots,"

She gave him a dry sideways look. "You have the taste buds of a child,"

The blonde teen harrumphed.

There was a silence when Sunako packed her lunch box away.

"Your mom makes your lunch?"

Sunako shook her head. "I do,"

Kyohei's brows hid behind his spiky gold bangs. He gaped at her nonchalance. "You did?"

She nodded.

"Wow," He muttered.

"Why didn't you have lunch?"

Kyohei went rigid. He finally said, "My mom isn't really the type to make me lunch,"

Sunako didn't ask, much to his relief.

"Did you move here?"

Kyohei shifted his long legs, so one knee was pointed up, while the other was pointed towards Sunako.

"I transferred,"

"Why?"

"Girls,"

She scrunched her forehead.

He sighed. "They got a little too...grabby. Let's just say I had to place restraining orders on every girl in my old high school,"

"Well, I don't blame them. Your face is so pretty it makes me sick,"

Kyohei narrowed his eyes at her. Sunako was looking through the fence. "You into chicks or something?"

Sunako snapped her head towards him with a dark look. "Just because I'm not slobbering over the ground you step on doesn't mean I'm 'into chicks'," She emphatically made quotation marks. She tutted. "I happen to have dignity,"

A faint smile touched his lips.

"You don't have friends, hm?"

She bristled.

"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist. I was just saying. I don't have friends either. People piss me off,"

"Me too," Sunako mumbled into her knees. "So why are you talking to me?"

"Why are you talking to me?"

She shrugged.

* * *

><p>"I'm home,"<p>

"Sunako darling! Welcome home!" Auntie bounced up to her niece, who was changing into her house slippers at the entrance.

As she walked into the living room (with Auntie skipping behind her), she noticed the antique chair she had painstakingly tried cleaning was gone, but the cleaning supplies were still haphazardly strewn on the floor.

The older woman beamed fondly down at her. "How was your first day as a second year?"

"Okay, I guess," Sunako said shortly.

"Did you make any friends? Kiss any boys?"

"...I think I made a friend,"

"Oh?" Auntie batted her lashes. "What's her name?"

"Uh...K...Kyo..ko,"

"Kyoko?" Auntie's smile upped in wattage. "What a lovely name! She must be a wonderful girl. Oh, Sunako! Your first high school friend! You must invite her over for dinner,"

"...she would love dinner,"

"Fantastic!" She rubbed her niece's arm happily. "I'm so happy for you, Sunako,"

Now she'd have to break it to "Kyoko".

Sunako cooked up scenes of her and that Takano kid as she stomped up the stairs.

"What am I going to say, Hiroshi? 'Oh, hey, I told my aunt that you were a girl so she wouldn't prepare a nursery for us if I told her you were actually a boy. She wants you over for dinner. Cross-dress and I'll feed you shrimp'?"

After a long pause, she thumped her fist into her palm.

"Actually...that's a good idea. Thanks Hiroshi." Sunako hugged her anatomical dummy and best friend in the darkness of her room.

"But man, making friends is annoying. Think of all the other shenanigans he'll put me through."

She yawned and put the back of her hand on her forehead before falling asleep.

Little did Sunako know that the Fates were snickering somewhere not too far away.

Sometimes a girl will run late and run into a boy. Sometimes she'll put up a fight, bicker with the boy, and discover that he's in the same homeroom, Math class, and lunch period as her. Sometimes the girl has a love-obsessed aunt who would hound her if she found out she talked and had lunch with a bishounen. Sometime the girl fibs a little and things begin to change.

Because after all, the only constant is change.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally got around to writing a SunakoKyohei Wallflower fanfic. Feels good. I have everything mapped out, for once. **

**The rest of the gang will show up later in the story, but for now, Kyohei and Sunako become BFFs. **

**Sunako and Kyohei will have...tamer personalities. I'm going to make Sunako a little more human and a little less Sadako from The Ring. So OOC-ness will be happening. You have been warned. **

**I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I love writing it. (also, I apologize for any errors. Editing in the wee hours of the night is a bad idea. Bad, Pony. Bad.) **

**Happy reading! **

**-Pony Juice **


	2. Yuki

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wallflower/Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. **

II. Microwaving Crayons

"Ginshiro, how did you find my chocolate stash?" Sunako hissed.

The little blonde boy turned large, innocent eyes on her. Then he cheekily tapped his nose.

"Gin sniffed a girl once and told her she had babies in her tummy," Yae informed matter-of-factly. She grinned with dimples at a fuming Sunako. "The chocolate was yummy by the way,"

"..."

"RUN, GIN, RUN!"

"Nnn!" He gurgled, stuffing chocolates in his mouth as he ran.

Yae's blonde pig tails bounced as she and Gin ran for their young lives from their enraged babysitter.

In the span of an hour, the twins had poured a jar of worms into the washing machine, microwaved crayons, and smeared miso paste on the kitchen floor and skated on it with the freshly bought eel Sunako had driven a hard bargain for.

Needless to say, Sunako had grieved over the slaughtered home appliances and spoiled food.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT CHOCOLATE WITH YOUR SOULS."

"AIYA!"

The twins had reached the door with their pudgy hands around the knob and swung the door open just as Sunako came barreling after them.

Sunako tackled a boy around her height with short, wheat-colored hair.

"OW!" A feminine voice whined from underneath her.

She arched a brow. He was a...he, right? Then her eyes began to sizzle.

Frankenstein's Monster! What was with all these glittering boys nowadays? His face was soft and round, with wispy blonde lashes and a beautiful face that made her want to put him in a dress. _Another _fucking bishounen?

Sunako lifted herself off of him and sat up. He similarly sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Tears had pooled in his eyes.

Then she noticed that his face was almost identical to the twins' faces. In fact, his face was just a matured version of Gin's and Yae's.

"Yuki-tan!" The twins chirped. Gin and Yae latched onto his legs and began talking indecipherably at top speed.

"Gin," He smiled down to his baby brother and baby sister, both of them on him like a cancerous growth. "Yae,"

Sunako stared. Her eyes were getting twitchy. Too...beautiful...she was going to melt if she looked at this celestial family reunion for too long. _They are not made to be seen by my measly human eyes. _

The boy stopped coddling his siblings to look up at the shifty-eyed girl who had tackled him. Man, she packed quite the punch. Yuki flinched at the bruise forming over his ribs.

"Hi," He said shyly. "I'm Tomoya Yukinojo. You can call me Yuki, though,"

"Nakahara Sunako," She said weakly.

His eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! You're the babysitter, right?"

Sunako pointed accusingly at the damage the twins had inflicted on the Nakahara mansion.

Yuki laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about these two. They're a handful. Mom and Dad are usually busy with work and I have work on the weekends,"

The dark girl nodded, still sulky over the chocolate.

"We love Sunako-tan!" Gin ran to Sunako and hugged her leg. Yae followed with a perky, "Yeah!"

The older girl sighed. They were a handful (though that was a gross - nay, a disgusting understatement) but they knew exactly how to make her forgive them.

Auntie had insisted she take up babysitting the Toyama twins on the weekends. Their parents usually picked them up after dinner.

It seemed like today Yuki was picking them up early.

"Uh...you can come in," Sunako invited him in stiffly.

"I know my parents usually pick them up after dinner," _Did this kid have telepathy? _Yuki sat down on a velvet love seat and continued solemnly, "But there was an...incident at work today and I kind of..." Yuki broke off, voice breaking and cheeks reddening. "I left early. I don't have the keys since my parents are usually home by the time I finish work. So I called Ms. Nakahara and asked for your address. And here I am,"

He smiled, though it seemed sad.

Sunako looked away. Looking at him was giving her indigestion. She wanted to file a complaint to God for making him so sickeningly cute.

But he looked like he was in dumps, and Sunako's Mommy instinct forced her to ask, albeit hesitantly, "Is something wrong?"

Yuki raised his brows and looked away from Gin and Yae, who were making forts from the dirty clothes in the hamper. Then he smiled sadly again. "Is it that obvious?"

"I guess,"

"At work...my boss - I mean...well, it's all complicated," He turned an endearing shade of pink. "Let's just say I saw someone I like with someone else,"

"Oh," _Well, it's not like I know anything about this drama_. "So your girlfriend is two-timing?"

He looked a little unnerved. "Um...we're not really in a relationship," Yuki ruffled his hair with his elbows on his thighs.

"You two like each other, but she's seeing someone else?"

Yuki seemed to turn redder. "Kind of,"

_Kind of? _

"You feel betrayed," Sunako mused.

"Yeah, I mean...I thought...maybe I should have known it was never going to work out between us," The effeminate boy shook his head self-deprecatingly.

Sunako looked at him uneasily. Oh, Buddha. It wasn't like she knew how to comfort someone...this was going to be uncomfortable.

"Uh-"

"But I mean, I thought it was different!" Yuki wailed, catching the awkward girl off guard, making her wince at the pitch of his cry. "We had something that I never...I never felt like _that _towards anyone! Especially since...and then...and then...!" A typhoon of tears attacked Sunako, whose eyes bulged.

Her hankie was still bloody, so she ran to get a box of tissues.

"Thanks," Yuki sniffed. He blew into the tissues, chest still heaving from loud sobs. Good God, he was practically a girl!

"No problem," Sunako mumbled. She cringed away when he tried looking at her.

His crying stopped after what felt like twenty minutes. Gin and Yae were lying inside their fort, heads popped out to watch their big brother cry.

"Why is Yuki-tan crying?" Yae whispered up at Sunako.

Sunako frowned at her house slippers.

Just then, Auntie burst through the roof.

On an ostrich.

Plaster and debris rained over them, and they heard the roar of a helicopter above the hole in the roof.

Sunako paled. Yuki choked. The twins were in awe.

"...A-Auntie-"

"Sunako darling!" The celebrity cooed and hopped off the giant foreign bird, who squawked at her grumpily. She smiled down at the siblings. "And Yuki, Gin, and Yae are here as well,"

"Hi Ms. Nakahara," Yuki said uneasily.

"Auntie!" Gin scrambled to cling to her leg. The ostrich snapped at the child. Gin stopped. His bottom lip quivered.

"Don't be so mean, Blue," Auntie scolded the ostrich. Blue lowered his head. She turned to Gin. "Would you like to sit on Blue?"

His eyes dried in an instant.

"Sunako, help me put him up,"

"I want to sit on Blue!" Yae whined.

Sunako scowled. "I want to sit on Blue," Her eyes turned star-struck. "Ostriches can kill lions in cold blood,"

"Sunako?" Yuki looked at her meekly.

"Oh, Sunako, don't be a child. You can have your turn after. Come, help me," Auntie lifted Gin up. He flapped his hands in front of Blue, who indignantly fluffed his feathers.

Sunako plucked Yae up and sat her atop of the giant bird.

"Mush, birdy, mush!" Gin cried.

Yae tugged on Blue's black feathers.

"Children, be gentle. Blue is sensitive," Auntie tapped the ostrich's beak.

Blue snorted.

"Anyway," Auntie announced with flourish. She turned on her niece and the boy timidly watching his little brother and sister on the surly bird. "Sunako made a friend at school!"

Yuki glanced at her. "Er...that's nice,"

"It's wonderful! We're celebrating next weekend, Sunako. Remember to tell Kyoko. Now all you need is a boyfriend,"

"I think having a friend is enough. I mean-" '

Auntie interrupted with a no-nonsense tone. "Yuki, take Sunako out,"

Both teens' eyes bulged. "But Auntie, we can't-"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Na-"

"Now that that's settled," Auntie exhaled in relief. She brushed her curls back. "I'm off. China hasn't seen me, the Marie Antoinette of Japan, for two months. Nihao!"

Auntie skipped to Blue, lifted Gin and Yae off, and signaled to the hole in the roof. The roar of the helicopter was deafening. Soon Auntie and Blue were lifted out of the hole in the roof and into the helicopter manned by Sebastian.

"I thought 'Nihao' meant 'hello' in Chinese," Yuki feebly muttered.

"It does."

* * *

><p>She had put off asking him all week.<p>

She could just tell Auntie that "Kyoko" couldn't go, but her aunt would probably force her to make friends with people she didn't like. She might even think Sunako was lying.

Every time Kyohei so much as looked behind him in homeroom, she would quickly look away. She refused to feel flattered by the pissy faces he had made every time she ignored him. She skipped Math when she realized _he _was in her class. She plugged her nose and forced herself to eat in the Biology room instead of sharing her lunch with him on the roof. She fleetingly wondered if he had lunch. Sunako felt like a coward, but by Friday, she would ask him.

She had to.

Thursday morning, Sunako rushed to school early and sat in her homeroom seat.

Takano was always late to class, so she was astounded when she heard the thud of feet and the door ripped open by none other than Takano Kyohei himself.

She widened her eyes behind her bangs, but she looked out the window.

With every stomp of his feet, her pulse throbbed in her throat.

Two large hands slammed onto her desk. Sunako looked up at his livid face, anger contorting his beautiful face.

"What's your problem?" He growled at her, eyes narrowed and lips sneering. "One day you're all chummy with me and then you avoid me for four fucking days. What the hell is that?"

Her face was heating up. Was he counting the days? Why was he so upset anyway? She wasn't really avoiding him...she was just scared to ask him. Wasn't it too much to ask someone she knew for a day to do so much? She munched on her bottom lip and risked another peek. Kyohei was breathing heavily, annoyance and anger rolling off of him in palpable waves.

The boy suddenly turned pink, and Sunako had a bad feeling that it wasn't from being angry.

"I've been starving during lunch. I mean, it's not like, you know…I-" He quickly assured her.

Sunako ignored the tiny prick of hurt. Instead, she interrupted his stuttering.

"You like fried shrimp, right?"

The anger and awkwardness left his face and was replaced by confusion. "Yes?"

Sunako struggled to word her request. "I've been meaning to ask you something. You know how I don't really have friends?" Kyohei nodded. "My aunt is kind of...well, she really wants me to have friends. So I told her I made a friend,"

He raised a brow.

"_Her _name is Kyoko,"

"Kyoko?" He didn't remember her making friends with some girl. Or maybe that was why she was avoiding him. Had she made friends with other people? Did she not want to be friends with him anymore? His jaw clenched tightly.

Sunako sighed. "You're Kyoko,"

Kyohei blinked. "Uh, no. I'm Kyohei,"

"..."

Then the wheels began to turn and he looked at her in horror. "Oh no. No, no, no - I will _not _cross dress. I knew it. I knew you were some pervert - you like cross-dressing boys, you creep! I will not - I _refuse_-!"

"I am not some pervert who likes cross-dressers. Buddha, we've been over this! I don't like girls!"

"Then why'd you tell her I'd go to dinner as a girl!"

"If I told my aunt you were a boy, she'd start scheming to make us a couple. And you're a fatty - I thought you'd love to have free food!"

"I do love free food but I don't wanna dress like a girl!"

"No fried shrimp for you!"

"Why'd you tell her I was your friend anyway?"

"Because she'd start dragging me to stupid social functions in Spain again to make friends with snobby rich socialites,"

"How is that my problem?"

"Look, just come over once as a girl so I don't have to deal with Auntie bugging me, okay?"

"Nakahara," Kyohei growled.

Sunako looked him square in the eye. "Takano,"

Kyohei was stunned, to say the least, that he hadn't noticed that her hair was out of her face for the first time since he'd met her.

Her eyes were elegantly almond-shaped, and cradled by sooty dark lashes that reminded him of black lace. The color of her irises was beyond what he'd ever seen - they looked like some exotic jewel mined from the most secret place on earth. Their arguing made her squint her eyes in anger, making the color of her eyes a dark indigo from her lashes crowding together and casting shadows.

"-even know _why _I said you were my friend. We only spoke for a day and you ate my lunch. I hardly think that constitutes a friendship, does it?" Sunako stopped ranting when she felt the full-force of his face in hers. "YOU'RE GLITTERING IN MY FACE. GET THE HELL AWAY!"

"I AM NOT!"

"SO ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?"

"FINE, BUT YOU BETTER MAKE SURE DINNER TASTES LIKE THE BEST DAMN THING I'LL EVER EAT, GOT THAT?"

"I WOULD 'GET THAT' IF YOU WEREN'T SHOUTING IN MY FACE,"

"YOU'RE SHOUTING TOO!"

"You're going to need girl clothes and stuff," She said abruptly, and crossed her arms.

Kyohei groaned. "I can't believe I'm doing this,"

"I'm beginning to think you'd do anything for free stuff," Sunako chided.

"Yeah, whatever," Kyohei grunted.

The pair were so focused on arguing, they hadn't noticed their audience until they heard them buzzing.

"Did you see that? Kyohei and Sunako never talk to anyone!"

"So he does like her?"

"No way! I bet that freak put him under a spell."

"Why is he standing so close to her?"

"How low. She can't get him any other way."

"God, don't these girls have a life? Why are they always on your case?" Kyohei asked irritably. He grew angrier when Sunako became withdrawn. "Hey, you can't just let them badmouth you or they'll just keep doing it,"

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" She hissed. "We can go get some clothes after school. I'll pay for it,"

"What d'you mean it doesn't matter?" He ducked down to her ear, looking suspiciously around the gossiping homeroom students.

"I mean the last time I didn't let them badmouth me, I almost got expelled," Sunako brushed her hair off her shoulder, trying to ignore his breath near her neck. "Auntie had to do a lot of damage control,"

"What did you do?"

"I almost sent a girl into a coma. The other girls suffered from massive blood loss," Sunako scoffed. "I wouldn't have hit her so hard if I knew she was an anemic,"

Kyohei was speechless.

"You...fight?"

She straightened her spine. "Is there something wrong with that? I know it's not lady-like or wh-"

"No, I mean, that's pretty cool," Kyohei excitedly said. "I can't believe you beat on them that bad. Damn, Nakahara,"

And for some reason, Sunako couldn't help but puff her chest in pride.

Kyohei stared at her from the corner of his eye, a funny feeling in his stomach.

_Damn._


	3. Dinner

_Time Skip to Saturday morning! _

"Does this make me look fat?"

Kyohei tugged at the material sticking to his skin like a leech. It was a black v-neck with sequined butterflies at the hem that Sunako thought made him look unnecessarily attractive.

"No, but your thighs look big in that skirt,"

"Yellow is so not my color," The grumpy bishounen slammed the door of the fitting room.

Sunako snickered. She sat back with her legs crossed.

Curious boyfriends stared at the pretty boy and his girlfriend - except _he _was dressing in girl clothes and modeling them to his smirking girlfriend.

"I think it would come together nicely if you'd just wear the wig," Sunako stretched her arms languidly over her head.

They had rescheduled their shopping extravaganza to Saturday since Kyohei had a dentist appointment Friday after school. Auntie had insisted on taking care of the Toyama twins so her niece could go out shopping ("Shopping! With a _friend_!").

"Uh. Nakahara?"

"What?"

"…I'm stuck,"

"Norman Bates," The horror-lover sighed. "Hold on,"

She swung open the fitting room door.

Kyohei arms and shoulders were raised, so his head was hidden in the black shirt. His torso was exposed, and oh lord, what a torso it was. His skin was tanned to golden perfection and his chest and abdomen were beautifully muscled. His pelvic bones cut sharply down and vanished under the yellow skirt, along with a dusting of gold hair trailed down from his belly button.

Her hands feverishly demanded to reach out and grope him.

She allowed herself to ogle instead.

"Nakahara?"

"Hm?"

"Help would be nice,"

"It would,"

"So...you gonna get on that any time this century?" He struggled to lift the shirt. It looked like the shirt was a couple sizes too small for him.

Sunako got to work in the small fitting room with her fingers dancing on his skin while she slowly inched the shirt up. To her surprise, his skin started to goosebump. She glanced down at her pale, slender fingers. They weren't that cold, were they? Sunako had been wearing her mittens-

"Can you lift your arms up any higher?" She asked, having pulled his shirt up to his chest.

"Not without ripping this thing," He replied hoarsely.

Sunako pulled the opening over his head. Now his arms were behind him, though still caught in the shirt, while his chest and face were finally exposed. She felt the hot skin of his chest through the material of her wooly gray sweater. She felt her face heat up, but forced herself to focus.

He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, and he felt very much like a teenager then. Her head was directly under his chin, so he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo floating up to his nose. It only made his pulse thump harder. Kyohei prayed that she couldn't hear him.

"I just need to," She gritted her teeth and tugged. "-get it off your arms. Turn around,"

Sunako stood on the bench of the fitting room while Kyohei face the door. She tugged at his arms, trying to rip the shirt off his arms. Then she shook her shoe off and pressed her foot against his back.

"Get off!" She barked at the shirt.

"Pull harder!"

"I'll rip it-"

"My blood circulation…"

"Shut up and let me-" She grunted, thrusting her foot deeper into his back.

"OW! Watch what you're doing!"

"Be a MAN!"

"Hurry up! It's too tight-"

Meanwhile, shoppers stopped to listen. Without context, they were left blushing and gaping at the sounds coming from the fitting room.

Sunako kicked harder into his back, making him growl loudly, "Damn it, woman!"

"Suck it up!" She tugged at the tight sleeves. They were stuck around his forearms.

With another violent kick to his back, Kyohei fell forward. "What the FU-!"

Kyohei crashed through the door of the fitting room, with a yelping Sunako on his back.

Somehow, she ended up straddling his back. Her fingers held the shirt, which she had managed to free during their fall. Dust and rubble clouded around them. Store managers and shoppers gathered around the couple, staring at the damaged fitting room and the two kids on the floor.

"Ow," Kyohei moaned as he lifted his face off the door. He was lying on it, shirtless and in a bright yellow skirt with a girl sitting on his back. Locks of her long black hair tickled his back, sensitizing the nerves on his back. He tried to ignore the feel of her soft thighs against his sides. Her skirt had ridden up, allowing for the pearly, warm skin to press against him. Warm fingers were splayed on his shoulders, making his skin break out in goosebumps once again.

"You're heavy, Nakahara,"

She scoffed and stood up. Sunako threw the shirt at his head.

"Uh...ma'am?" A store manager gingerly placed a hand on Sunako's shoulder.

"Yes?"

"You'll, uh, need to pay for repairs,"

Kyohei whimpered.

"Here," Sunako flippantly handed him a wad of bills that could renovate the entire store.

"Thank you, ma'am," The manager beamed.

"My back..."

"Get up, Takano. We have more shopping to do."

Sunako found a coral pink dress that covered his broad shoulders, but exposed his knees and down. She bought yellow heels, a blonde wig, and ordered a girl from a make-up counter to give Kyohei a makeover.

"Make him as pretty as you please," Sunako added sweetly. "We're going to a costume party,"

At the beautiful face she had to work with and the numerous bills happily nesting in her apron, the make-up counter girl set to work.

In the end, Kyohei was decked out in a pink dress, yellow heels, a long blonde wig, and make-up. Sunako had stopped by the market to grab some grapefruits, which she stuffed down the push-up bra she had bought him, much to his chagrin.

His manly pride wept at his image.

"This dinner better be worth it," He growled.

"You make a really pretty girl,"

"Nakahara-"

"Don't forget to make your voice girly," Sunako stepped back to admire her work. "Oh the woes of being a bishounen," Sunako smirked. "Come along, _Kyoko. _Auntie is just dying to meet you."

"Maybe we should've shaved your legs," Sunako frowned at the blonde hairs carpeting his long legs. Even his leg hairs were pretty; they became gold shavings in the sunlight.

"I'd rather stick my kidneys in an oven," Kyohei - or rather, Kyoko, snapped down miserably at the dark-haired girl.

"That can be arranged," Sunako tapped her chin. "And remember, high-pitched voice,"

Kyohei scowled.

The two sat on the lavish couches in the Nakahara living room. Kyohei had been awed by the magnificence of the mansion.

"What does your aunt do to earn so much money?" He had gawked at every little foreign rug and every priceless antique relic they passed on the way to the living room. He was further astounded at how a guest at the Nakahara residence would need a map to get around the place.

"Oh, she's something of a celebrity. They call her the Marie Antoinette of Japan or something," Sunako had waved him off flippantly.

"Sunako darling!"

A mass of smoke and golden glitter burst through the massive double-doors.

"What _is _that?" Kyohei began to choke on a sprinkle of glitter and the smoke crawling up his nose.

Sunako grimaced. "Auntie,"

Kyohei whipped his head around to see the glitter settling and smoke dissipating. A cackling figure appeared.

The woman had a hand at her mouth, laughing like the stereotypical rich Japanese lady. She looked classy enough to fit the picture.

"And you must be Kyoko. It is to my utmost pleasure to meet you, darling. And oh my, I was right! You're absolutely lovely! You've got the face of a Parisian model I met once. She was a doll, though her nose looked like it had a little work done and her eyebrows were a little fuzzy - oh, I'm rambling. Call me Auntie,"

Auntie sat down gracefully on the couch opposite his and Sunako's.

She looked between the two with sparkles in her eyes.

"Go get dressed Sunako. I'll be having a chat with Kyoko," Auntie purred. Kyohei gulped.

Sunako squirmed, giving _Kyoko _worried stares. "She" stared back and motioned Sunako to shoo.

"I tried warning him," Sunako tutted to her reflection as she brushed her hair. "With my eyes, of course. But if he thinks he can handle Auntie alone, he's a bigger moron than I originally thought."

"-worked as at as a gay stripper, but he was only gay-for-pay, so he said. So, this guy had to work around the same time as our date since his co-worker was giving birth that night, so he sends his nine year-old daughter to go instead! Charming little creature, though she picked her nose so hard she got a nosebleed. How precious!" Auntie chuckled.

"And there was this other guy who worked in a celebrity graveyard in Korea. On our first date," She giggled at the memory. "He took me to his cemetery and started digging up the body of this K-Pop idol who had died from asphyxiation or something - choked on a battery, poor dear. Then he asked me if he could have my spine, right? So he whipped out a scalpel-"

"Auntie! Would you like some tea?" Sunako slammed a hand down on Kyohei's shoulder, jerking him out of his terror.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you,"

"Help me make some tea for Auntie, _Kyoko_," Sunako bit out through gritted teeth.

He nodded, eyes still glued on Auntie like she would pounce on him and carve his organs out. Kyohei shakily stood, wobbled on his heels, and ran like a mad-(wo)man after Sunako.

"Your aunt," He cowered behind her, teeth chattering. "is fucking nuts!"

"Hey," She wielded a knife with an alarming amount of ease. "She's just...quirky,"

Kyohei looked at her in disbelief. Sunako dumped green tea powder into a tea cup.

"She's 'quirky' like hell is frozen over!"

"Man up!" He motioned to his appearance with outrage plain on his face. Sunako sniggered. "Oops. Forgot,"

"Sunako!" Auntie slammed the door open. "Don't worry about dinner. We're going out!"

"But Auntie!" Sunako's jaw dropped. She had stayed up till the wee hours of the night to prepare that damn shrimp-

"No buts. This is my treat to you and Kyoko. We're celebrating. Sebastian's outside with our ride," Auntie had an iron grip on both teens' wrists before they could protest.

They found themselves in a limo that a third-world country's population could live in.

"Sorry for not telling you in advance," Auntie patted Sunako's hand "But I thought you deserved a break from making dinner all the time,"

Desperation was born on Sunako's brow. She hurriedly tried to explain. "But Auntie, I _have _to make dinner!"

"Nonsense. Just sit back and enjoy,"

The cross-dressing boy elbowed the distressed Sunako. She sighed in response. His hot breath tickled the nerves in her ear. She was also uncomfortably aware of his legs brushing against her own naked legs.

The night before, Auntie had come into her room to "prep" for Saturday's dinner. Auntie had threatened to melt Hiroshi into several plastic hangers if her niece didn't wear the plum dress that, while it had long sleeves, ended abruptly mid-thigh. It was modest in the front, but the back dipped down right above her butt. Auntie then had to pull Sunako's legs onto her lap to wax them.

Needless to say, watching all those horror movies had perfected her blood-curdling screams for help.

Maybe her legs were still sensitive from pain of ripping her hairs out of their follicles, but every accidental brush of skin with Kyohei's was making her tingly in all sorts of places.

Sunako ended up crossing her legs like a no-nonsense business woman, but soon discovered it to be a bad idea.

Kyohei had difficult ripping his eyes off the long length of creamy fair skin on her slender and shapely legs. Wearing a dress had its advantages; he rather liked feeling her smooth skin against the coarse golden hair on his legs.

But then she had to go and cross her legs in that sinfully short dress.

The very thighs he had been thinking about ever since his encounter with them earlier were a tantalizing few centimeters away from him.

Sunako heard strangled noises coming from him. She frowned and tried to look at his face in the dark limo. His eyes weren't quite on her face.

She thanked Buddha that he couldn't see her red face in the dark. Sunako quickly put her legs back down and discreetly scooted away from him.

The luxurious hotel, sprawling a couple of acres, blinded the stars that had already been sucked dry by the city lights and urban life below them. The hotel buzzed with the click-clacking of high-heeled businesswomen, the tittering of gossip, foreign accents making business transactions, and elevator music.

The floors were spotless enough for Sunako's approval and the atmosphere was nice enough. But she felt uncomfortable.

Probably not as uncomfortable as Kyohei, she thought darkly, casting a look at the cross-dressing pretty boy. He was doing the opposite to cover up his unease; he was striding in front of her with his shoulders squared and his chin stuck up. A smile twitched on her lips.

The trio walked into the hotel's restaurant like ducks, with the tallest being Auntie in the lead, Kyohei in the middle, and Sunako in the back.

Immediately, wayward male and female eyes feasted on the three beautiful women who walked in.

The first woman was none other than the notorious celebrity, Ms. Nakahara. She strutted with practiced ease and the confidence of knowing exactly how alluring she was, with her hips swaying and her heels clicking rhythmically. Age did nothing but make her beauty mature like a bottle of good wine. Ruby lips were curved up into a mischievous smirk.

The second woman had the timeless beauty of her fine bones falling in just the right places, with symmetry that would have Da Vinci weeping. Wild gold curls fell down a slender, athletic body she carried with the arrogance of a rough-and-tumble ball-buster. Her height didn't look faithful to a full-blooded Japanese heritage. Distrustful, burnt-honey eyes hardened into a glare that speared every hungry eye in the house. Full lips were curled down at one corner, in a mix of a frown and an almost-snarl. She was walking strangely, though; heavily lacking in sophistication, but very much like a possessive bitch crouching over her pups. Shoulders squared and nearly hiding the last little duckling from view.

The third was a dark beauty, what with inky hair dripping down the virgin paper-white skin of her naked back. Purple gem-stone eyes peeked over the blonde girl's shoulder. With a diamond-in-the-rough feel and a chin stuck up above an elegant, swan neck, she was undeniably an unpolished youth.

All in all, they were really quite the sight for sore eyes.

Kyohei's lips curled into a snarl. What the fuck were they looking at like that? He was use to feeling like fresh meat on the market, but this was exponentially worse. Especially since it wasn't just him the eyes were looking at so openly.

"Look, Sunako," Auntie excitedly exclaimed. "It's Yuki!"

At the sound of his name, the girly-boy looked up and blinked in their direction. He offered the party a bleak smile.

"Hi, Miss Nakahara," He bowed, and then offered Sunako and Kyohei a polite smile.

Sunako was perturbed by the lack of emotion in his eyes. In the short time they had met, she had figured that he was fiercely emotional and sensitive boy. The tight, forced smile did not reach his eyes.

"This is Kyoko, Sunako's _friend_," Auntie gushed.

Yuki busied himself with passing out menus. With another smile, he said, "Once you've decided what to order, just signal for me,"

Yuki scampered off to wait another table.

Kyohei studied the menu. When nothing he read looked anything like "fried shrimp", he sent an accusing glare at Sunako.

"I'll make you bentos for the rest of the year. With fried shrimp. Just don't throw a hissy fit," She said quietly.

His lips thinned in suspicion. Kyohei decided to ignore the latter part of her sentiment.

"This isn't some ploy to get me to fall for you, is it? No drugs in my food, alright?"

"Freddy Krueger, when have I ever let you think I'm that type of person? Hm?" Her eyes narrowed in anger.

Kyohei slumped in defeat. "Never, really," He muttered in surprise.

"What are you two girls whispering about?" Auntie's eager face popped up between them.

"This girl at our school never cuts her toe nails and they're really disgusting to look at when we change for gym," Sunako fibbed.

Auntie nodded, satisfied with the response. "Ready to order?"

"Yeah,"

Auntie caught Yuki's eyes from across the room, and curled a finger at him.

"Ready?" He asked.

Yuki scribbled down their orders. Sunako's eyes zoomed in on the cuff of his white button-down shirt. She caught brief glimpses of purple marring his otherwise flawless skin.

_Bruises? Is he being abused or something? _

But before she could inspect further, he was off.

"My, what a busy boy," Auntie watched him off.

An older waiter came to their table. "Three drinks from three gentlemen," He announced curtly. The trio turned to where the waiter motioned.

Three elderly men waved at them expectantly.

Kyohei and Sunako gagged. Auntie sniffed. "This isn't some cheap bar. We don't want them,"

"As you wish, ma'am." The waiter disappeared with the drinks.

Their meal came. Auntie was as happy as a clam, while Sunako and Kyohei moped over some good old Japanese cuisine.

Yuki came by to pick up the plates.

"By the way, Sunako, would you mind if I asked you out next Friday?" That sad smile was on his lips.

Sunako's lips parted, but she was interrupted when Auntie squealed.

"Don't you worry, Yuki. She'll be going,"

Sunako stayed silent. She had heard two girls at school talk about "rebounds". It was pretty obvious that Yuki was still upset over that two-timing girlfriend of his. He was just using her to get over her. She somehow couldn't find it in her heart to be bitter towards him; all she felt was pity.

Kyohei's jaw tightened when he saw her slightly nod.

"Cool. I'll pick you up," He then addressed the rest of them. "I'll be back with dessert soon,"

"Isn't this exciting, Sunako?" Auntie bounced cheerfully in her seat. "First a friend, now a boyfriend! This year is going by beautifully!"

Sunako scowled into her lap, while her aforementioned friend sat stonily. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. He seemed annoyed about something, if the way his brows tugged together and his finger picked at the skirt of his dress were any indication.

A couple of minutes later, the same waiter who had delivered drinks appeared with a strained smile. "A drink for the lovely lady in purple,"

Sunako stifled a groan. Auntie looked at her happily when she saw the handsome boy who had sent the drink. "Oh my, another suitor!"

"Auntie..."

Kyohei shot a look towards the table where the waiter came from. Legs as long as Kyohei's were lazily draped over each other under a table more extravagant than the rest. His pose was reminiscent of Auntie's own self-assured confidence. His hair didn't seem natural, though. It almost looked like a wig. Kyohei's eyes thinned further when he noticed the boy's scarlet brows quirk in his direction. Mischievous periwinkle eyes winked at their table, specifically at the irritated violet-eyed girl.

"I refuse," She said through gritted teeth.

"She'll drink it. Give my thanks to that charming boy," Auntie waved the waiter away.

"I am not! I don't wanna," Sunako crossed her arms.

Kyohei was trying to shoot that guy a look, but red brows rose in his direction. The boy gave Kyohei a once-over and grinned appraisingly.

Then he remembered he was cross-dressing and that he probably looked like he was checking the bastard out. He was about to look away with a sour expression, when a very pretty auburn-haired girl joined the boy. She sat across with him with a displeased frown, with her arms crossed. The boy looked equally unhappy, and his grin fell rapidly.

Looked like trouble in paradise. Kyohei smirked and returned his attention to the table.

"Sunako, be polite and accept the nice man's drink!"

"Never!"

"I know exactly where your 'Evil Dead' collection is. I was thinking about replacing them with some of my favorite Korean dramas-"

"NO!"

"Then drink it!"

Sunako made unhappy noises, but downed the red liquid anyway. It looked like wine, but it tasted a little off.

"Now was that so hard?" Auntie clucked, talons wrapping around her glass of champagne

"It tastes weird," Sunako rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"It's an acquired taste, darling,"

"Maybe that kid put something-"

But before Kyohei could finish, Sunako's nose erupted in a nosebleed that was a couple gallons shy of the Niagra Falls.

**Man oh man. I edited the dinner scene like crazy, which is why it took so damn long to get it out. PHEW. Now I can get the ball rolling, as they say. I'm excited to write the next two or four chapters :D. They will (hopefully) be published a lot sooner than this chapter. **

_nakkoa_

_-_Sorry for grossing you out with the pus-filled pimple analogy in the first chapter XD. I am not including Tamao or Machiko, because I think they're useless filler characters that I don't give two shits about. Takenaga, Ranmaru, Yuki, Kyohei, and Noi are all in the story. Just wait for them ;)

_jenny _

-Thank you :) I will continue and I will finish this story. I have a nasty habit of losing interest and I have committment issues when it comes to finishing stories, but I'll be damned if I become one of those authors who abandon stories. This will be finished! Give it a year or two.

_mika's insanityforce 4_

-I go nuts about grammar, so thank you for telling me that my story is free of those errors :)

_ShreddingRibbons_

-I love you :D I'm pretty paranoid about my sense of humor, so I was so happy when you said I have a great, marriage-worthy one xD

_Anonbon_

-I try. I want to make these little rascals as realistic as possible (it's one of my paranoias that I might not be getting it right). I feel better now, so thanks for that :D

_JC _

-Sunako is going to be a little more quirky and confident here, because honestly, I don't think most girls would fall apart like that if one guy they liked told them they were ugly. Sunako's a strong girl, so I thought that was a little annoying how she's always harping about that. Thanks for telling me that you loved my take on her, because I like it too. :)

**Happy reading. **

**-Pony. **


	4. Auntie

"It's late, darling. Sebastian can take you home. You don't have to stay," Auntie said softly, and gently patted his hand.

"Nah, my mom's not going to care if I'm out late," Kyohei awkwardly let the older Nakahara hold his hand. The strong, confident woman he had met that night had dissolved into a terrified, sobbing mess. Ms. Nakahara gnawed on a frilly white hankie, watery eyes on the entrance of the emergency room.

After the explosive nosebleed Sunako had dealt, Auntie had something of a hissy fit and a nervous breakdown all wrapped into one. The hotel staff had carried Sunako's unconscious body to the hotel's emergency room and that was the end of that.

Or so he thought.

Kyohei should have been home at that hour, but he felt strangely inclined to stick around to see if Nakahara was okay. And despite Auntie's words, she wasn't relinquishing her grip on his hand.

Women and their mixed signals.

"Ms. Nakahara?" A male nurse in scrubs called. She immediately shot up and out of her chair, jolting Kyohei up with her. He was beginning to feel like he was in a medical drama, like the ones his mother watched. Ooh, ooh! And maybe Nakahara had a spontaneous case of amnesia to boot.

The nurse led them into the room. Nakahara's pale arm nursed an IV needle as she lay there on the reclined bed, looking a little paler than usual. Up till then, he had no idea that was possible.

"She's okay, isn't she?" Auntie asked shakily, putting a hand over Sunako's.

The nurse nodded. "I'll send in the doctor," With that, he disappeared, though not without eyeballing Kyohei. _Damn you, Nakahara. _He clenched his fist into the dress and fought off a scowl.

A middle-aged woman with a black bob entered the room. She bowed and addressed Auntie.

"I am Doctor Ueno," She eyed Kyohei oddly. "Your relation?"

"Friend,"

Doctor Ueno nodded. "Sunako has a mild case of hemophilia. Ms. Nakahara, are you aware of this?"

She blinked tears out of her eyes and frowned. "Hemophilia?"

"It's very rare in females. Hemophilia is a type of disorder that prevents blood from clotting. Sunako has a low number of platelets, which are the blood cells that help clot blood. Say somebody without hemophilia cuts him or herself - the blood would clot to stop the bleeding. However, somebody with hemophilia could possibly bleed to death from the same cut,"

Auntie gasped and threw her hands to her mouth.

Dr. Ueno continued. "A symptom of hemophilia is nose-bleeding without reason," She flipped through Sunako's medical files. "There are no records of spontaneous nose-bleeding or any other signs. Sunako must be a very careful girl if she's never shown any outward symptoms," Then the woman's brows puckered. "What's strange is that there was a large dose of blood thinner in her body. It's what triggered her nosebleed. Hemophiliacs are strongly advised against using blood thinners,"

"But Sunako...w-we don't have any blood thinners," Auntie breathed.

Dr. Ueno scrunched her face and closed her file. "Did she take any aspirin?"

"No. She didn't say anything about being in pain,"

"I say that guy who bought her a drink at the restaurant spiked it," Kyohei crossed his arms.

Auntie stared at him with a strained expression. "But why?"

"I dunno. But the minute after she drank that stuff, she started hemorrhaging,"

The doctor pursed her lips, nodding at Kyohei. She then turned to Auntie and admonished, "It's generally not a good idea to accept anything from strangers,"

Dr. Ueno continued with her explanation. "The blood thinner will be out of her bloodstream by tomorrow. Until then, it would be best not to move her around too much. We can't risk anything right now,"

Auntie agreed readily. "I'll watch over her for the night,"

"For all the trouble, the hotel is offering you a free room and service for tonight and tomorrow," Dr. Ueno said gently. "You two should rest. Sunako will be fine,"

Auntie stubbornly, but politely refused.

"Suit yourself," Dr. Ueno shrugged. She turned to Kyohei. The boy was watching Sunako's nose twitch in her sleep. "You need sleep. You're still growing,"

He rubbed his eyes and peered at the doctor from the corner of his eye. "Free room service?"

After enough fried shrimp to replace all of his blood with lumps of cholesterol, Kyohei stretched on the king-sized hotel bed. His back immediately fell in love with the soft but firm mattress. And oh, the support...

Kyohei wanted to take a shower, but he couldn't risk washing off the make-up or messing his dress. He grumbled. The things he did for that girl and he only knew her for a damn week.

But even though the mattress was heavenly and the food made his tummy heavy with fatigue, he wasn't all that sleepy. Kyohei found himself ambling down to the hospital ward of the Mori Hotel.

He saw Auntie's silhouette. Sunako wasn't all hooked up with wires, so there wasn't much light, save for the lights outside thieving in. Auntie spotted him and managed a weak smile. The silence was awkward until Auntie broke it.

"You must think I'm a bad guardian,"

It did cross his mind from time to time. Though he had learned that with females, being honest was always a bad thing. It often led to a life of physical abuse.

So he said nothing.

"I know I'm pushy and bossy and all that," Auntie sat up straighter and brushed a curl behind her ear. Kyohei grabbed a chair and pulled it up besides hers. Sunako's feet moved under the bundle of blue blankets. "I want Sunako to have friends and a boyfriend. I want her to enjoy her youth, you know? A normal schoolgirl's life is what I want for her,"

For the first time, Kyohei saw Auntie's age. Her brows pinched together and he saw frown lines. Her violet eyes aged dramatically. "A normal life, the kind I never had as a youth," She looked at him, her eyes studying his face. They were both silent, Kyohei feeling uncomfortable and Auntie contemplative.

"You know, your face resembles someone," Auntie stared at him directly, with a sad expression. Her voice was soft as she said, "I suppose I didn't actually know her, but she was always there,"

_Huh? _

She looked away quickly and laughed. "Ah, what am I saying after all this time?" Auntie looked up and blinked rapidly. Kyohei realized she was blinking away tears and felt his discomfort increase.

"Ah, this is nothing. Why am I crying like this? It's been eight years since I've been Sunako's guardian and I've been a bad one for eight years," She rubbed her eyes. "Maybe, because the circumstances in which my darling Sunako came to me were not ideal and maybe I was still so hurt and ovewhelmed then that I couldn't bring myself to be as good to her as I could. And honestly," Auntie's voice broke. "Honestly, I don't know if I ever can get over what had happened or be good to her,"

Kyohei's eyes narrowed to slits. Eight years ago...he knew _exactly_ what had happened then. That was why he was here.

"I'm sorry for saying strange things, Kyoko," Auntie patted his hands and smiled weakly. "I'm feeling very emotional right now. Seeing my loved ones getting hurt because of me always does,"

Kyohei had no words of comfort for the older woman, so he nodded and said that Sunako would be okay.

After that, Auntie excused herself to her room to rest.

The teenager glanced over at Sunako's flickering eyelashes.

"I know you're awake,"

She opened her eyes and grinned at him. "You're a lot smarter than you look. Like, a lot,"

"Shut up," He flicked her nose. "How much did you overhear?"

"Auntie was saying she was feeling emotional. You're really bad at comforting. Like, really bad,"

He flicked her again and sat back in his chair. "Any ideas why you got your drink spiked?"

"Nope. Don't know the guy. How about you?"

Kyohei looked into her eyes for a moment, then looked away and said cryptically, "I have my ideas. You ought to be more careful, Nakahara. Rich folk like you always have enemies,"

"Whatever. If I see that punk again, I'm going to beat him up," Sunako declared.

He smiled faintly at her. "Get some rest, Nakahara,"

"I'm not sleepy," She rolled onto her stomach and reached for the phone on the nightstand. Sunako handed it to him.

"You know what I want right now?" She flashed him a toothy grin. "Room service. Chocolate pudding. You know what to do."

Kyohei rolled his eyes.

_Time skip to Sunday!_

"That's a lot of shrimp for a little lady like you," The shop owner chortled.

Sunako shot him down with a flat look.

"...that's 800 yen, please,"

She grabbed the shrimp and stalked out after paying. It was starting to get dark, but Sunako only had one more store she needed to visit. She pumped her fists. Yes, she was so going to drive a hard bargain for a pound of tofu, yes ma'am, she was.

The store was out of the marketplace. She had heard a gaggle of pregnant women gossiping about the store, so Sunako decided she would check it out. It was a little out the ways, but Sunako was _fearless._ She had ovaries of iron - no, no, platinum. Indestructible womanly parts were what Sunako Nakahara had.

Thugs be damned! They couldn't touch her. No way, not her. She would twist their balls and break their windpipes and smack them.

Yeah. That was _so _her.

_She _roamed the streets at night because she had the physical means and the fabulous reproductive organs to do so.

Sunako puffed her chest and swaggered over to the store.

_Fried tofu? No, I can fry it myself. Less expensive. Wait - I'm filthy fucking rich...but I'm such a cheap-ass..._

"Sunako?"

Her dark head snapped up at the voice addressing her.

"Oh. Hi, Yuki,"

The blonde boy smiled sweetly at her. He nodded to her hand. "Grocery shopping?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Same," He cleared his voice. "I saw what happened at the restaurant yesterday. Are you okay now?"

"Hm?" She "hm"ed distractedly while she inspected the price tag. That wasn't a nine she was seeing, was it? Or was it a zero? "Oh, I'm fine. Thank you for asking,"

"No problem, I'm glad you're okay. That was really scary. A lot of people thought the end was coming and then you face-planted on the table really hard," Ah, so _that's _why her face hurt. "Then your aunt freaked out and your friend looked angry,"

Her ears prickled. Kyohei? What would he be so pissed about? Blood on his food, she suspected.

"I hope you don't hemorrhage while we're on our, um, date," He peered at her hesitantly with his brows pinned together. "You do remember that we're going out on Friday, right?"

Sunako looked at him blankly. "Yeah, I remember,"

"I was going to call your house to talk about the details, but now that we're here, we can talk now," Yuki smiled. "How about after school? I'll pick you up at five,"

"Where are we going?"

"Where would you like to go?"

Video store. Underground fight club. Cemetery.

"Uh..."

"Movies?"

Sunako winced at his gorgeously cute face in hers and then she imagined his face after watching an illegal German slasher film.

No, she couldn't do it. Not to Yuki, at least.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked in a pained voice.

Yuki tugged at the plastic shopping bags in his hand. "Um, well, I like animals so-"

"We can go to the zoo," _Just get out of my face, please! _

Yuki perked visibly. For the first time, he graced her with a genuine smile that knocked the air right out of her lungs. Holy Buddha, this kid was _so cute..._

"I'd like that," His eyes were sparkling at her. Was that a nosebleed coming on? Luckily, Yuki turned and waved over his shoulder. "I'll be seeing you then. Bye Sunako!"

"B-Bye," She mumbled. Her hand went to her pocket to fish out her hankie. Blood dribbled out. Sunako pity-tripped for the tofu (half-off!) by moaning about hemophilia and its miseries. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Sunako walked home and reflected on her weekend. She went out to dinner with the most beautiful specimen of man and her aunt, unsuspectingly drank blood thinner, abused room service, bought cheap tofu and shrimp for the bentos she had to make for herself and said beautiful specimen of man, and was going to the zoo with the cutest specimen of...man?

Whatever.

Sunako had illegal German slasher films to watch.


	5. Gym Teacher

Sunako wanted to cry. She wanted to smack the pervy look right off of her gym teacher's stupid face. She wanted the girls to stop squealing about looking fat in bathing suits. She wanted the girls to stop whispering about, ahem, _bikini lines_.

For the love of Buddha, Sunako wept, it was only the second week of April! Why, _why _did they need to swim now? Her former gym teacher was on pregnancy leave. That, and she was never as enthusiastic about teaching her classes anyway, since she was too busy leering at high school boys. She hardly ever noticed Sunako slinking away after she took attendance anyway.

This replacement teacher looked like he came straight out of every young Japanese virgin's nightmare; what with a bald comb-over, glasses, and fat - _everywhere_. This chump was _way_ too eager. Especially today.

Sunako grimaced at the navy school bathing suit. Then she glared at the sun's happy ass and the disgustingly bright shade of blue the sky was wearing today. Those fucking clouds were probably off tantruming elsewhere.

Why couldn't it have rained for the rest of April? Why, weatherman? _Why? _

"Nakahara! I'm closing the lockeroom. Please hurry up!" A female voice called. Sunako grimaced some more. Of all the people she had to pass to cut gym, it had to be the teacher-pet, goody-goody extraordinaire of her class. Egads.

She took a shaky breath in. Could she wear that? Sunako idly felt her legs up. Still smooth and hairless from the vicious waxing Auntie had given her. Her pits were waxed straight to hell, too. Sunako bit her lip. Her body...on display in that...that _scrap_?

Sunako stared at her slender arms and legs, her flat stomach, and adequate chest. Would it be so horrible to be seen in that? In that skin-tight, revealing, whore suit? In front of her entire class?

Did she dare?

Her hair was pulled back into a braid that fell down her back. No hair to cover herself. Nope.

Violet eyes wandered down her side. Pink scars criss-crossed her right side, from the side of her chest down to her hip. Sunako vaguely ran her fingers over the embossed slashes, a repeated habit conditioned into her from a young age. In an odd way, the scars channeled both unease and comfort into her fingertips, and eventually, into her heart.

"Nakahara!"

Sunako snapped her head up, hand dropping from her side as she desperately looked about for escape. The windows were barred, the teacher's pet was at the door - damn, damn, damn! All means of escape were blocked.

Oh, fuck her teenage girl insecurities. She'd wear that useless, impractical, piece of fap material and she'd wear it with pride! Or, at least she would try not to gouge any wandering eyes out and make tribal necklaces out of them.

Her hands trembled as she pulled the navy school dress over her head, followed by the white blouse and her underwear. At the very least, it covered most of her chest and it was a dark color and dark colors were slimming...

Crud. Her shaky resolve was beginning to crumble. Sunako furiously pulled at the material, willing it to become a potato sack or something more modest -

"NAKAHARA!"

Breathe, girl. Breathe.

"Yoo-hoo! You're going to make both of us late for gym, you know!"

Sunako closed her eyes and tugged at the stretchy material again. She made sure her butt was securely covered and patted her boobs to make sure they were in tact. Then she made her voyage to the door.

"Sorry," Sunako mumbled to the impatient girl holding the door for her. The girl said nothing but stared openly at her classmate in awe.

Sunako backed away from the girl and booked it for the swimming pool. Did it look that bad? The thought tugged her lips down into a frown.

With her hands stiffly at her sides, she marched like a prisoner bravely striding over to be executed.

As soon as she stepped outside, the buzz of conversation died. All eyes snapped to a sight of Sunako Nakahara.

In a bathing suit.

"_Holy shit on a pony_."

"Her body's better than I thought it was,"

"She looks cute with a braid~"

Sunako was deaf to the murmured praise, but hypersensitive to the point-blank stares she was getting. She forced her shoulders back and her chin up even though she wanted to curl into a fetal position forever. Ooh, and why did it have to be so sunny? Why?

"Oh, ho~! So Nakahara-san is here now," The P.E. teacher cooed, eyes gleaming. His hands hovered suspiciously over her shoulders as if he was wondering what part of her he wanted to grope first. Sunako feverishly wanted to beat him senseless. Could Auntie do that much damage control? She could, couldn't she? Definitely, right? It was _Auntie _for Buddha's sake.

All students crowded together by the pool, keeping a good amount of staring distance from Sunako. Mr. P.E. Teacher clapped his hands cheerfully and cried, "Static stretching for five minutes. Go!"

The girls clustered together to stretch together. Sunako floundered about before deciding to sit on somebody's shadow. She breathed in deeply, and exhaled with her stomach tight eight times.

Sunako was in the middle of touching her toes with her rump in the air when another shadow, a tall, spiky-haired shadow fell over her.

"So you actually had the balls to show up,"

She gritted her teeth at the smooth masculine voice that belonged to none other but one Kyohei Takano. His voice seemed a little huskier than usual, and she blanched when she realized what position she was in, and exactly where he was standing. Sunako shot up. She forced herself to breathe in order to steady her heart, which was aggressively beating against her ribs. Her pulse drummed in her neck when Kyohei slouched towards her.

"You don't have class this period," Sunako mentally gave herself a pat on the back for coolly regarding the gorgeous boy.

Blood rushed towards her face when Kyohei jerked his head to the side irritably, as to shake his gold bangs from out of his eyes.

"I don't, but I heard a couple of guys talking about a hot girl in a bathing suit," He smirked. "So I showed up."

One hyperobservant Sunako caught the subtle once-over he gave her. Honeyed brown eyes darkened as he stared at her from the corner of his eye. She struggled to keep her fist away from his face when his eyes lingered on her chest.

He grinned wickedly. "Guess I missed her,"

Sunako scowled murderously at him with her fists tightening by her sides. Her ferocity was only measured by his smugness, which bled through by the way he was flashing his blinding white teeth at her. At his height, she noted in dismay, he could easily look down the scooped neck of the bathing suit. With the way his bronze lashes flickered, Sunako guessed he was aware of his advantage. This only served to spike her outrage.

In a certain angle, angry sparks could probably be seen shooting out of her irritated purple eyes and into his sunkissed eyes. He stared right back, with one corner of his mouth curved up in a faint half-smile. Sunako felt herself grow hot under his intense stare. She blamed the cool breeze for the goosebumps populating her body.

"Kyohei-kun," Mr. Gym Teacher pouted, suddenly popping up between the two, effectively ending their staring contest. "Why aren't you prepared?" He winked suggestively. "I'll have to give you detention for that, you naughty, naughty boy,"

Both Kyohei and Sunako blanched.

"I don't have gym now," The blonde boy forced out, fists rising when Mr. Gym Teacher began to pet Kyohei's bicep.

"Are you here to check out how cute Sunako-chan looks today? Well I won't let you!" The portly, 30-something year-old playfully pushed Sunako away from Kyohei and stood in front of the boy with his hands on his hips.

Both Kyohei and Sunako shuddered.

Sunako lifted her foot when she felt something warm slither under her heel. When she looked down, she gaped. Blood gushed from the geyser that was every females' nose. Several of their classmates were passed out in a pile of heart-shaped eyes, drool, and hands gripping cellphones that sneakily stole glances at Kyohei through little lenses and flashing lights.

"Aw, shit," Kyohei grimaced at the nosebleeds and the high-pitched shrieks coming from Mr. Gym Teacher.

"How did you not notice them snapping pictures and creaming over you?" Sunako scoffed.

"Jealous?"

"Of the one who put on a bra and a wig for hotel food?"

He bristled and crossed his arms over his chest in a standard form of male arrogance. "At least when I'm in a dress, I look female. You look like the corpse of a seven year-old boy,"

"You don't need a dress to look female!"

The indignant "O" his full lips formed and the brow-raised, "What do you think about that, _BIOTCH!" _look on her face begged for one wise-cracking teenager to whisper, "_Buuuuuuurn." _

Kyohei curled his lip back in a snarl. Sunako pivoted on her heel and made sure that her braid lashed across his face as she gave him her back.

"Okay everybody!" Mr. Gym Teacher clapped cheerfully. "The sports festival is coming up in a month, and in order to see where each of you are in terms of athletics, this week you will all compete in races. Winners may be recruited to sports teams and the losers will take the brunt of my training," Several young faces paled at the gleam in his eye. "Today I am testing you on swimming,"

Sunako shivered at the thought of being forced into a sports team; the captains were notorious for being persuasive and pushy enough to boss a fish out of water. Though, she mused glumly, being recruited into the swim team would involve pushing herself _into _water.

Kyohei stretched an arm over his head. "Well, Nakahara, it was nice seeing ya," He saluted and winked.

Meanwhile, roughly two feet away, girls squealed and hemorraged some more.

"Uh uh uh, Kyohei-kun," Mr. Gym Teacher grinned impishly. "You skipped gym today,"

At the boy's disturbed and awed face, the greasy old man pushed his glasses up mischievously. "You're in my class second period,"

"How stupid," Sunako mumbled. "Only an idiot would show up to the same class they cut, four periods after,"

"Hey!" Kyohei whined defensively.

"Don't worry, Kyohei-kun~!" Gym Teacher cried. "You can make it up to me now by competing this period,"

"But-"

Gym Teacher's hand brushed innocently against Kyohei's hip. The boy steadily turned blue in the face; the man whispered menacingly, "Or would you prefer _private after-school make-up_?"

"...I-I'll go change,"

Gym Teacher beamed and patted Kyohei's shoulder. "Good boy."

When Kyohei fled to the lockerroom, the rest of the class came to. "Now, we will begin our swimming competition shortly. The winner is the swimmer who swims the most laps. The winner will be recruited by the swim team," At the grimaces on his students' faces, he added, "and will be rewarded with extra credit and prestige. Oh, and also this Italian zombie flick my sister got me. She's so weird."

_Italian zombie flick? _Could it be the very film Sunako fought vigorously over online but ultimately lost to some woman who wanted to make the movie her brother's birthday gift?

She squinted and read the title. Her eyes lit up. It was! That was it! Sunako Nakahara did not take those swimming lessons Auntie forced her through for nothing. Oh no, she grinned wildly, that film would be _hers._

"Get ready to lose, Nakahara," Kyohei's voice boomed in her ear. She turned to see an amused look on his face. If he was going to be participating in gym, he might as well make it entertaining. He leered. "'Cause _I'm _going to win this,"

"That's my line, Takano," Sunako pursed her lips, eyes narrowed. "Line four, page sixteen."

"Kyohei-kun...Kyohei-kun...!" Squirt!

Another feeble voice finished the first voice's sentence breathlessly. "...is shirtless."

"And wearing swim trunks. Oh _God,_" A third female voice moaned. "His legs are so _long._"

"I wonder what else is that _long_."

Pause.

Processing...processing...

GUSH!

The boy in question stood obliviously on the diving board, bronze brows bunched together over amber eyes schooled on the chlorinated pool water. On the diving board next to him was one Sunako Nakahara stuffing her black braid into a swim cap. Her goggles were strapped to her forehead, waiting for the sleazy old gym teacher to blow the whistle.

The sleazy old gym teacher in question frowned at his sweatpants, which were steeping in enough blood to fill God's kiddie pool. He glanced back to the two teens taking position. Gym Teacher smiled serenely at Nakahara's cute little tush, up in the air, and drew the whistle to his mouth.

Sunako glared at Kyohei, who glared right back. "I'm warning you, Nakahara. I'm not gonna go easy on you 'cause you're a chick. _I'm _going to win this,"

"'Through presumptions come strife'. Proverb 28:25,"

"What happened to Buddha?" He sneered.

"Buddha is forever in my heart,"

"You better hope he stays there and answers your prayers, because you'll need all the divine intervention you can get,"

"Cute," Sunako slapped her goggles over her face. "but Buddhism doesn't work that way,"

Kyohei responded with a suggestive wiggle of his brows and a middle finger.

"Ha! The brilliant monster has nothing else to say so he resorts to offensive hand guestures! _Loser_!"

"On the count of three, Kyohei-kun, Sunako-chan," Gym Teacher chirped. "One..." _You got this, Nakahara. Takano's ass is yours! Along with that obscure Italian horror movie. _"Two..." Sunako inhaled slowly, nerves buzzing at the fierce gleam in Kyohei's eyes. He shot her self-assured smirk that put a scowl onto her face.

"Three!"

The shrill whistle rattled Sunako's tightly-wound body as she dove into the water. Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she submerged herself. She swam back up to the surface and kicked off. To her dismay, Kyohei's feet splashed pool water into his face. He was already getting ahead, the sneaky bastard!

He hooted and hollered at her over his shoulder, "Suck it, Nakahara! I am _so_ gonna kick your ass!"

"You have no business with my behind, Takano!" She howled and choked on a gush of pool water he splashed in her direction and sputtered in the most dignified way that she possibly could. "When I win, I'm going to gut you like a goddamn fish and turn your insides into a golden fuckin' medal!"

"In your sick, twisted dreams," He chuckled hoarsely.

"Trust me," Gasp, gasp. Spit, spit. "My dreams aren't as kind to you as you think,"

"So you admit that you dream about me?"

In the background, the entire school immediately gathered by the poolside.

The girls had finally come to and were cheering Kyohei on with sweet shrieks of, "Kyohei-kun!" and "TA-KA -NO!" The boys appreciated the pearly, streamlined female body speeding to and fro, and supported her with hearty bellows of, "NA-KA-HA-RA!" and "You show that pretty boy!"

"What was that, fourteen laps?" Another gym teacher muttered to Gym Teacher.

"What are you saying, Kirishima? Sunako-chan has _two _visible birthmarks," Gym Teacher shook his head with a dazed smile. "Silly Kirishima-sensei,"

Kirishima paled, and duly noted to have his daughter home-schooled.

"Buddha's teeth! They've been at it for a while now!"

"What stamina!"

"_Oh my_!"

"Hey, I bet Takano'll win,"

"How much are we betting?"

"I get the teacher's lounge for a period each day for the next month. You know. For a private, 'teacher-teacher' conference with Sakamoto-sensei,"

"A _full _period each day? _Oh my_, you've also got some stamina, Akita-sensei!"

"Would you like to see how long I can go, Fukuzawa-sensei? Because I can g-"

"Shut up, SHUT UP! Just tell me what I get if Nakahara wins!"

"Looks like Akita's getting his teacher's lounge for a month; Takano's got a lead on Nakahara by two laps,"

"Yes!"

"Okay, if Nakahara wins, I'm drawing a dick in permanent marker on your desk, Akita."

_Damn...it...need...zombie...movie...move, Nakahara! Pick up your limbs, woman! Must...win! _Sunako's body was thoroughly exhausted, from head to toe, but her brain forced her body to move along. She managed a weak glare at Kyohei's feet splish-splashing a couple of feet ahead of her. Sunako enviously watched his body breeze through the laps, lean muscles flexing sinously under his skin.

She struggled along, lap after lap, hoping, _praying _to Buddha that the stubborn prick would get tired already. Sunako grunted, feeling her own muscles grow weary and weak with strain. But in typical Sunako Nakahara fashion, she pedaled on.

She whisked by her rival...wait - _by _her rival? As in...as in, she was ahead? Oh, happy day! Sunako gleefully swam by, giddy adrenaline fueling her body to keep going.

"-AMP, CRAMP, CRAMP, CRAMP!"

Scratch that. The moron forgot to stretch. Sunako giggled maniacally.

On her way back, she caught sight of Kyohei's outraged and pained face. Sunako smiled widely, much to the disturbance of her peers.

"No! Kyohei-kun, keep going!"

"Damn it, Takano, my teachers' lounge! Think of my teachers' lounge! Think of Sakamoto-sensei's needs! _Think of our needs!_"

"I feel like silver Sharpie will show up better, no? A big, silver-"

"Quit talking about my eggroll, woman!"

"Holy shit, man. Nakahara's winning!"

"NA-KA-HA-RA! NA-KA-HA-RA!"

Her limbs felt like overcooked noodles, but at least she was ahead. Kyohei slowed down considerably, barking up a storm, his head barely above the water near her feet. She kicked a wave of pool water into his face and roared, "Retribution, fool!"

Finally, Sunako finished her sixty-third lap and lifted herself out of the pool with trembling arms. She squeaked when her arms gave out, but a dozen hands caught her and hauled her up and out of the pool. Her fanboys bellowed her victory so deafeningly loud that Sunako felt like she was going to go...well, deaf.

At some point between the roaring crowd of teens and the mighty pats to her back and shoulder, somebody thoughtfully draped her in a towel. Sunako felt her knees give out, only to have herself seated atop of the shoulders of the student body. Goosebumps dotted her skin as a breeze passed over her shoulder. She followed the breeze and looked over her shoulder at Kyohei, who floated on his back, looking as disgruntled as an ego-wounded teenage boy would.

_With his hands behind his head, the scapula in his left shoulder sticks out. His deltoids look rather rav-ohholyshitfuckingdamn Nakahara, do not finish that thought._ She was _this _close to getting away with ogling Kyohei when his eyes locked on hers. Sunako almost flinched at his glare, which she responded to with a decidedly angry pout. Where did he get off giving her dirty looks like that? Hmph.


	6. Oda

"Oh, crud."

At the moment, Sunako stunk like an old man with loose bowels. An aging piece of cheese. A teenage boy's gym bag. A teenage boy's socks. Wet dog. A dead animal decomposing in a dump. A homeless drunk's vomit. All those things, plus chlorine.

After her race against Takano, her little parade had dissipated until only the girls from the swim team, led by Chie Orino, forced her back into the pool upon recruiting Sunako into their team. In the pool, the girls had swam a mile, and at the end of practice, they had all played Marco-Polo and enjoyed a good laugh at Sunako's (unintentional) rendition of _The Grudge _and _The Ring_.

Now her limbs felt like marshmallow fluff. It was a wonder how Sunako was able to troop over to the shower room without dissolving like the Wicked Witch of the West. Her hand twisted the knob, but much to her horror, it was locked. She heard the vague sound of a humming janitor cleaning the girls' shower.

This brought her back to her original sentiment of, "Oh, crud."

Auntie had sweetly informed her of the new love of her life coming over for dinner and then some. Auntie then proceeded to tell her niece to make herself scarce.

"But why? The house is big enough for-"

Then Auntie had started giggling about naked hide-and-seek.

And then Sunako understood.

Sunako also activated her mental mute button and cried herself to sleep that night.

Right now, she needed to address this problem. There was no guarantee that wherever she would end up wandering to tonight would have any sort of bathing facility. Sunako's eyes flickered to the boys' shower room flanking the girls'. No one was in there besides her. She wouldn't spend more than ten minutes cleaning up and changing, so no harm done, right?

Right, she reasoned with herself. Besides, if someone did walk in, they wouldn't want to watch her showering anyway. She imagined something akin to a blood-curdling scream with hands slapped over traumatized eyes and hasty back-pedaling instead.

Sunako let herself in. She stripped out of her bathing suit and hopped into stall. She fell under the cold spray and sighed.

"Ah." She rubbed her arms with the soap bar she brought. She rubbed the soap bar between her hands, getting them sudsy so that when she made a circle with her pointer fingers and thumbs, a shiny net formed. She blew through the circle and watched with childish delight when a bubble bounced off the dark blue tiled wall.

Sunako was shampooing when horror of all horrors, the door slammed open. She froze with foamy fingers tangled in her long hair.

Whoever had barged in was muttering angrily about women.

"Buddha, I'll need soap for my ears," She mumbled, trying to catch a glimpse through the steam and bubbles of the boy who would make a feminist combust. His muttering abruptly stopped when he noticed her presence.

"Naka...hara?"

Goosebumps spread like a virile infection across her body at the rough and boyish voice calling her name. Sunako's purple peepers widened when she saw her suspicions confirmed; the voice belonged to none other than Takano Kyohei.

"Wha..." The blonde boy trailed off when his eyes similarly trailed down her body. She heard him hiss, "Shit." She felt the heat of his stare on her and her face grew hot and red as she yelled,

"Get out, GET OUT!"

"Ow, ow! Quit throwing stuff at me!"

"Honestly, have you no shame? Avert ye eyes, you disgusting-"

"Why did you-" She chucked another duck. Ooh, that could've been a head-shot.

"-bring rubber ducks with you? And also-" He almost sidestepped another ducky (ear! Ten points for Sunako!) and hoarsely yelled back. "You're bathing in the _boy's _shower room! You lost your right to bitch at me about shame, Nakahara,"

"Yes, well, the janitor is in the girl's shower room! What was I suppose to do?"

"Gee, I dunno, go to your fucking mansion and take a shower there?"

"I would if I could, you idiot," Sunako hissed, angry at dripping shampoo into her eyes.

Kyohei seemed to gather his bearings and quickly turned around, his cheeks still red. "Whatever. I just need to take a shower and get out. The boys' swim team rode my ass from Tokyo to Kidney,"

"Kidney?"

"You know," He motioned with a flippant wave of his hands. "That place with the kangaroos,"

"I really hope you didn't just call the largest city in Australia, _Sydney, _'Kidney',"

"It was an honest mistake,"

"You were a mistake,"

"You're a dick,"

Sunako massaged the shampoo out of her hair, momentarily forgetting that she was naked, not even five feet away from the most beautiful specimen of man. However, she did take notice when Kyohei began wrestling out of his school uniform.

"Stop it! Stop stripping!"

"Shove it. My mom'll probably waste all the hot water crying and reading those pervy books in the bath," Kyohei was down to his white undershirt and unbuttoning at a torturous rate. Man, his _pecs_...

Sunako squeaked when he hopped into the stall opposite hers. His blonde spikes darkened under the water and his chest..._look, look! The soap bar is shaped like a Hiroshi's middle finger. You need to replace it. You need to replace your shampoo soon too oh sweet Buddha I'm going to nosebleed...did he just take my soap? Fucking prick! Well, whatever. I'm done here...I'll yell at him anyway. _

Sunako was about to yell at him until the second dilemma within the hour struck. When she reached for a towel, she found none.

"Damn it," Sunako scowled. She turned off the shower. "I forgot my towel,"

"Tough,"

"Let me use yours,"

"Fuck no,"

"Please? I'll use it real quick, change, and bring it back in less than ten minutes,"

"No,"

"Now you're just being unreasonable,"

"You'll get my towel all wet,"

"So I'll bring you my towel,"

The boy in question rolled his eyes, rubbing his scalp.

"You're using my soap and shampoo - without my permission, mind you - so at the least, you owe me a towel,"

He sheepishly placed her strawberries-and-cream soap bar back into the dish in the shower stall.

True to her word, she snatched his oversized towel and changed into her school uniform in record time. Kyohei was scrubbing his back when she popped into the opposite shower and handed him her towel.

They both ended up leaving the gym at the same time. Sunako walked behind Kyohei, who seemed to be walking just as slowly. After some companionable silence, Kyohei spoke as they jogged down the stairs.

"Should a chick be out this late?"

Sunako shrugged. "Doesn't matter,"

There was another silence that Sunako broke after a while. "How are you on the swim team if you lost?"

Kyohei grunted. "You might have won, but the boys' swim team wanted me anyway," He sniffed indignantly. "It's a lose-lose situation, if you ask me,"

"Tough,"

"Bitch,"

"Slut."

Sunako stumbled and then whined, "I hurt. I hurt all over. My legs feel like overcooked noodles. Ow,"

"Tough," Kyohei sneered. "You're two laps sorer than me,"

"I can't even walk. Ow,"

"..."

"Hey,"

"..."

"Are you ignoring me?"

"..."

"You _are _ignoring me!" Sunako gasped. "Hoe!"

Kyohei's face plainly told her that he wanted her to shut up, but Sunako thinned her lips and continued haranguing him. "How could you?" She sniffled, theatrically shaded her eyes with her hand and cried "Say it ain't so,"

"It ain't so, so shut up,"

Sunako lowered her hand and inspected him closely. Still blindingly beautiful. Still kind of angry-looking, but she was beginning to chalk that up as a part of him. Tired, but his droopy eyelids made her chest squeeze with how adorable he looked while practically sleep-walking.

"Hey, Nakahara,"

"What?"

"Where'd you get those scars?"

"Scars?" Sunako raised a black brow.

"The ones on your side,"

She exhaled sharply. "You were peeking,"

"There wasn't _that _much steam in the shower," Kyohei replied with a wolfish grin, his eyes sweeping over her waist.

Sunako's knuckles were itching to send him to the sun, but she stopped as his question registered. Her hands sought her side. She scrunched her brows.

"I'm...I'm not sure,"

Kyohei cocked a bronze brow in disbelief.

"They...I've just had them. I don't really know. I don't remember where they came from,"

"Those scars are too straight to be an accident,"

Sunako looked up at him in confusion. The question had thrown her off completely. That comment had her unnerved. She snapped at him defensively, "Are you insinuating something?"

"Someone had to have cut those into you is all I'm saying," He said nonchalantly, though he stared at her side when he thought she wouldn't notice.

"I don't remember," Sunako said and hissed in unease. "Drop it,"

Kyohei looked annoyed, but said nothing. They walked through the bustling city in silence until a female voice suddenly called out,

"Is that you, Sunako?"

Both teens turned to find a beautiful dark-haired woman walking slowly towards them. The woman's mature dark eyes sparkled with tears as she came up to Sunako and clasped her hands.

Sunako stared dumbly at the woman. "Do I know you, ma'am?"

The woman pressed her lips together in a small smile and let Sunako's limp hands go. "I suppose you wouldn't recognize me. You were very young when we met. How are you?"

"Um. Fine,"

"You look well," The woman warmly patted a befuddled Sunako's head. "You've become very cute,"

Sunako elbowed Kyohei when he started snickering, though she was just as baffled by what the woman had said. Her? _Cute_?

"I suppose I must introduce myself. My name is Naomi Oda,"

"Oh. Uh. This is Kyohei Takano," At the suggestive twitch of Naomi's brow, Sunako flatly finished with, "My friend. And I'm Sunako Nakahara,"

The playful gleam vanished. "Nakahara? So that woman is your guardian?"

"Auntie? Yes," Sunako said carefully.

Naomi frowned. Her face became dark with anger, her warm countenance stormy. "That woman is the reason for so much suffering. So much of your suffering," She said bitterly. "I apologize if I offend you, Sunako," Naomi said, not looking or sounding apologetic. "But I simply cannot tolerate that woman,"

"I can understand that," Sunako muttered, scowling. "Whatever she did to you, I apologize on her behalf,"

"You don't have to apologize for that traitorous-"

"-Mori! Don't you dare touch her. You know she thinks you're a creep. She can hardly _stand _being engaged to the likes of _you_, you filthy, no-good-"

Kyohei and Sunako heard the furious male voice shouting from behind them. The spun around simultaneously.

"Takenaga!" Naomi shouted as the tall figure came closer. "Language!"

"It's Mori," He said as he ended his call, his voice level and his tone bored as he addressed her.

"As I said," Naomi huffed. "Language. You ought to be more abrasive,"

The footsteps stopped and the unlikely pair caught sight of a strikingly handsome, dark-haired teenager. He walked calmy towards Naomi. His face was polite and cold.

"What did he call you for?"

The boy - Takenaga, was it? - said, "Nothing important. Just the usual mocking and gloating," He noticed the other two teens and nodded towards them. "Who're they?"

"You remember Sunako, don't you? Or, maybe not," Naomi frowned again. "Sunako's seemed to forget me,"

The boy nodded in acknowledgement, dark eyes studying Sunako's face for familiarity.

"I'm Takenaga Oda,"

_Oda? He must be related to Naomi. They _do _look alike. Maybe she's his mom. _

"Sunako Nakahara,"

"Kyohei Takano," He grunted and exchanged a guy nod with Takenaga.

"Well, it's really late, Sunako. You should be heading home,"

"We were," Kyohei nudged Sunako with his hand on her lower back. "Let's go,"

Sunako offered a parting wave and a weak smile. "It was nice meeting you two,"

"Wait," Takenaga said. Kyohei and Sunako turned. Takenaga narrowed his eyes and spoke to Naomi without looking away from the pair. "Mom, isn't she the one who got-"

"Shh," Naomi shushed inconspciously. "Yes, that's her,"

_I got what? _

Takenaga abruptly bowed and said somberly, "My condolences. Your father was a good man and your mother did not deserve what happened,"

_What...? Was? My parents are fine. _

"I don't think she remembers," His mother whispered, not well enough for Sunako to miss her words.

"I've heard of that happening to some people," Takenaga rubbed his chin pensively. "I forget what it's called though,"

"Let's go, Nakahara," Kyohei irritably shoved her forwards. "This shit is confusing,"

"Indeed," She whispered in befuddlement. _Just what the hell were those two talking about? _

That night, Sunako had gone home anyway. Kyohei impatiently towed her to her house without hearing any explanations as to why she was avoiding home in the first place. Then he left.

It hadn't turned out to be a bad thing, though. The second Sunako opened the door, Auntie hurled herself at her and griped about how she had sent that "no-stamina" chump out the door.

That was the second night in a row that Sunako cried herself to sleep.


	7. Ranmaru

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wallflower. **

It was too perfect.

The sun was too shiny and the sky was too blue. Auntie's rose bushes were blossoming profusely and her happy-ass sunflowers did an adorable jig to the unbearably pleasant breeze, even though Sunako was sure that they weren't supposed to be in bloom till May (conspiracy!).

The trees were a-budding, the bees were a-buzzing...and Sunako was sick to her stomach.

Buddha might as well have slapped the Bright Creature's face on every surface of Tokyo with how her retinas were roasting.

"My...my eyes!"

"And good morning to you, Sunako!" Auntie burst into her room with her arms outstretched in joy. "Wakey, wakey, darling! It's your big day today,"

Sunako's mood dampened further.

"Auntie, remember how you were going to stop being so pushy? What happened to that?"

Auntie frowned. "Darling, there is nothing wrong with being happy and supportive of my niece's first date,"

"With a boy that _you_ forcefully set me up with. I'm pretty sure he has a girlfriend or something,"

"Nonsense," Auntie tutted stubbornly. "He would have said something if he did,"

"Actually, the chances of you listening are like the chances of me finishing this sen-"

"I have this dress for you that I bought in Manhattan last week," Auntie interrupted and shoved a clear dry-cleaning bag in her sleepy face. "I want you to try it,"

"It's ugly,"

"Go on and try it. No, wait, wait. Take a shower first. Use that cleanser in the bath and use this clay mask," Auntie dumped jars of product in Sunako's arms. "to tighten your pores and remember to moisturize afterwards. I'll have somebody come in to fix your nails and trim your ends and do your brows. Oh, and are your legs still smooth? Are you nervous? Tense? Should I call a masseuse?"

"Auntie, the date is afterschool. I have to go to school now. I don't have time to do all that," Sunako began shuffling towards the bathroom.

"Oh, you can be fashionably late,"

"No,"

"You don't even have to go to school if you don't want to. Personally, I think you're going to need a couple of hours of grooming before you go,"

"We're going to a _zoo_. Besides," Sunako sniffed. "The monkeys will treat me like kin for being as furry as they are,"

"Sunako," Auntie whined. Her mood abruptly changed when she propped her fists to her hips and fixed her niece with a hard glare. "You_ will be _fashionably late today."

What followed could only be described as a montage of ear-splitting, goosebump-raising, blood-curdling screams, rustling clothing, and the terrified cries of Auntie's team. Sunako emerged with shower steam as her backdrop, plucked and pampered to within an inch of her life.

That Friday, school had been remarkably absent of Kyohei Takano and boy, was Sunako feeling it. Every girl in the Buddha-forsaken school had swarmed her and demanded to know where the radiant creature was. As if _she_ was his damn secretary or something.

When 4:15 PM rolled around, Sunako wobbled out of school. Her usual grace and good-balance had been mugged and beaten to death yesterday from swimming. She was still dead sore everywhere and tripped and stumbled throughout the day. And the school's female population snapping at her heels all day like she was hiding Kyohei under her skirt hadn't helped either. Where was that idiot anyway?

She wearily glanced down at her watch; 4:34 PM. Sunako looked back up to the mansion and slouched inside. She sneaked into the house, senses on alert for any potentially lethal entrances from Auntie. She exhaled in relief when she read a note from Auntie, who was off to Taiwan. Sunako frowned and crumpled the note.

She dropped her bag and her uniform off in her room before rebelliously changing into a vertically black-and-white striped referee shirt (she reckoned she'd fit right in with the zebras) and baby blue shorts. She pulled on an over-sized hoodie that reached her thighs as a tribute to the thawing-but still a bit chilly- spring air.

Sunako squatted down to press on her skull clock and watched with morbid delight as the bloodshot eyes oozed out to inform her that it was 4: 40 PM. She fleetingly wondered if Yuki was as fashionably late as Auntie or if he was the type to show up early. Sunako grumbled and grabbed a messenger purse stuffed with money and little individually-wrapped gourmet chocolates. She went down to the foyer and lounged around with a pint of green tea ice-cream until a soft knock brought her to the front door. Sunako peered into the door-hole before opening the door to Yuki.

He looked harried and uncomfortable as he usually did, amber eyes fidgeting under pale lashes. "Um, hi Sunako,"

Sunako nodded her acknowledgement.

They set out to the Mori Zoo located in Shinjuku. She was wary of the name after the whole swallowing-blood-thinner incident occurring not so long ago at the Mori Hotel.

As they approached, her insides began to tighten and squirm in her stomach. She felt the walls of her stomach strangling her guts and churning acid so painfully she momentarily lost her breath. Her tired legs carried her uncertainly, making her feel like she was walking on the deck of a turbulent ship.

"So...how was your day?" Yuki said, breaking the awkward silence.

Sunako shrugged, face twisting into a pained grimace. "Okay, I guess,"

"Oh,"

The sudden nausea subsided as she watched him wrack his brain for conversation topics. Sunako figured he would quit, but oh boy was she wrong.

"Your favorite color?"

"Don't have one,"

"Any pets?"

"Don't have any,"

He was a determined little bastard, she'd give him that.

"National bird of New Zealand?"

Sunako narrowed her eyes. Carefully, she answered, "...Kiwi,"

"Do you...are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You're um," Yuki fidgeted under her thinned violet gaze. "Uh, limping. And your face is getting pale. I mean, paler than usual. Are you okay?"

"Just sore as crap. And nauseas as a pregnant woman," She bit her teeth in anguish.

Darn, and she'd just started ignoring how painful everything was. She felt like her body was going to shatter if she kept moving. That, or she'd vomit her intestines out. Ugh, did she eat something bad? Maybe those bitches at school sabotaged her lunch or something...no, no, she'd have noticed that. _This feels like my gut-feeling rather than indigestion...I don't want to go in that direction. It feels wrong. I can't go there. It's wrong. _Her ears began to ring. Sunako swallowed thickly. _Turn around. Turn back. Turn back now. _

"We're here," Yuki said quietly, peeking up at her nervously.

So they were. Sunako and Yuki walked through the stone arch proclaiming the entrance of the Mori's zoo. Two paths diverged before them; one towards the zoo and one towards the aquarium flanking the zoo. The Japanese characters spelling out _Mori Aquarium _were a dulled metallic blue. The cobblestone pathway was disrupted by shoots of grass and ditzy dandelions darkening the path with shifty shadows. Her stomach squeezed clenched so hard that Sunako began seeing black dots in her vision.

She gasped, wild violet eyes seeking Yuki out. The boy's hand was hovering hesitantly over her shoulder, forehead creased in concern.

"Wha...you're burning up! Are you sure you're okay?"

The black dots disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Her clammy hands trembled and she convulsed under Yuki's frantic grip. "Sunako!"

"F-Fine. I'm...I'm okay now,"

"I need to take you home."

Yuki kept talking, but Sunako began zoning out. Her ears selectively tuned in on a nearby conversation held by a group of elementary schoolers. The large number of other children wearing identical uniform suggested that they were on a trip to the zoo.

"I heard that those people are bad,"

"No, they pay for the summer festivals. That's what Papa told me,"

"Really? Well then they can't be bad people. Summer festivals are the best!"

"I heard that some lady died in the aquarium,"

"Yeah, me too! My brother told me that she's a ghost and she haunts the museum,"

Sunako's ears perked up.

"Ghost?"

"Yeah, yeah! And her daughter too!"

The queasiness in her gut increased tenfold, doubling Sunako over with a gasp. She loved occult stuff, sure, but this story hit far too close to home for some reason. It felt wrong for her ears to hear about this. She hated it.

"Nu uh," A petulant voice shouted. "Her daughter's still alive,"

_Lurch_. She dry-heaved.

"Sunako! I'm taking you home. You are definitely not fine," Yuki's voice angrily informed her. His voice was distant and vague, like Sunako was underwater.

"How do _you _know?"

"Papa told me!"

"How would your Papa know?"

"He used to study the fish in the aquarium. He's a marine bionogist, you know," The little boy said proudly, chest puffed out.

"Biologist, _stooo_-_pid_!"

"Whatever!" He cried with red ears.

"My big brother said that when he went to the zoo when he was little, his class wasn't allowed to go to the aquarium,"

"Why not?"

"I dunno. It was closed for a really long time and then it opened again. But nobody goes there anymore. It's too creepy,"

"Yuki," Sunako grabbed his wrist and stared him dead in the eye. "We're going to go buy the tickets now,"

"But-"

"No buts. We," She gritted out with effort. "are going to have fun. At the _zoo. Not_ the damn aquarium,"

Yuki nodded fearfully and dragged Sunako down the clean, weed-less cobblestone path to the ticket booth. Her vision cleared up considerably, and her stomach stopped convulsing. She sucked in a large breath and steadied herself with her hand clamped on Yuki's shoulder.

"T-Two tickets please," Yuki squeaked. His date was thankfully looking a lot less like Sadako from _The Ring_, but with her hand on his shoulder like that, he couldn't help but worry about the welfare of his underpants.

Yuki beamed at Sunako, sea lion plushie snugly tucked under his arm.

"And cats have glow-in-the-dark pee,"

"Gross!" Yuki laughed and rejoindered with, "Pandas bleat like goats,"

Sunako smiled fiendishly.

"Leopard Seals skin penguins before they decapitate and eat them,"

Yuki's face took on a shade of emerald, but he braved on. "Sea otters hold hands while they sleep,"

"Roadrunners eat ra - wait, are those the..."

"Tigers," Yuki's eyes glazed over just as Sunako's did, as the two eerily turned their heads simultaneously towards the tiger display, which wasn't much of display as it was a deep pit with a chest-high railing around it.

"TIGERS!" They howled, faces tinkled pink, and launched themselves onto the railing, excitedly scouting out the wild kitties. Much to their (and the rest of those elementary schoolers') dismay, the tiger, Shelly, and her adolescent son Christopher, bummed around doing absolutely nothing. The most exciting thing Shelly performed was a loud, fang-bearing yawn; Christopher rolled over to his other side.

"COME ON, GRANDMA! SHAKE WHAT MAMA GAVE YOU!" Sunako roared.

A group of zoo-mongers crowded around her, watching Sunako in amazement as she belted out encouragement and verbal abuse like a coach. Sunako rattled the railing and shook her fist, while Yuki squirmed impatiently and cooed at Christopher to look their way.

An ominous creak groaned from the railing. Sunako hopped madly, ignoring the sound.

Then a body crashed against hers.

Many things happened at that moment; a girl, who accompanied a scarlet-haired boy, tripped and fell against Sunako. Then the malfunctioning railing screeched and wailed in warning before crashing down into the tiger pit. The other girl's fall was halted by her companion, who grabbed her arm.

Sunako, however, fell right into the belly of the beast.

...

The end.

.

.

.

jk, jk! Continue :)

"SUNAKO!" Yuki cried.

The zoo-mongers similarly screamed in horror and backed away from the railing, wide-eyed stares directed at the girl crumpled inside the tiger pit. From their distance, they could see her arms and legs scratched up, clothing smudged and torn.

Shelly growled lowly and suddenly snapped to alert on her haunches. Christopher began to slowly stalk over to where Sunako had blacked out. Everybody watched with baited breath as the adolescent tiger prowled around her and then sniffed at her. Then he simply walked away and slumped back down, next to his mother, and began grooming himself.

"Call the police! I mean, the...the zoo police?"

"FIRE! FIRE!"

"She's bleeding badly!"

"Oh, look! It's Ranmaru Mori!"

Yuki stiffened. He mechanically turned around to see the playboy-extraordinaire posing outrageously in front of a growing swarm of women. Even the female animals began to coo and claw at their cages, eyes heart-shaped.

"Greeting, my kittens," Ranmaru purred and combed his stylishly asymmetrical scarlet haircut. His companion, the girl who had fallen against Sunako, was clinging to his side. The girl, Reiko Morimoto, was also the captain of the swim team.

"Oh no, Ran-chan," She simpered. "What if I killed Nakahara? My legs are still sore from swim practice yesterday. I think..." Reiko smiled thinly. "I..._pulled something _just now,"

Ranmaru returned her smile with a glint in his beautiful eyes.

He glanced passively at the tiger pit, then at the missing part of the railing, then at the frozen figure standing by the opening.

"Do not fret, my love," He held Reiko's chin in his palm, periwinkle eyes still staring into another pair of hurt eyes. As if speaking to somebody other than Reiko Morimoto, Ranmaru gently said, "I've called the…zoo-police."

Meanwhile, Sunako was coming to. A throbbing pain in her head brought her thin hand to a bump on her temple. She felt the warm stickiness of blood threaded in her hair and looked down at her bloodied palms. Wherever she was, it was mighty dark. It reminded her of...Sunako instinctively felt for damp bathroom tiles and sighed in relief when all she felt was dirt and rocks.

A low grumble like an impeding thunderstorm replaced the ringing in her ears. Sunako groaned and stretched her arms up. Where was she? Why did it smell like...she sniffed and cringed. _Animals_? And what was that sound? Her ears perked at the sounds of yelling and frantic voices and rustling footsteps.

The grumbling turned into what sounded like purring, a thrumming noise that harmonized the rest of the noise. Sunako decided she liked it, and that it made her rather sleepy...

"Don't you dare pass out again, Nakahara!"

"Jason Vorhees," Sunako murmured. "That voice..." _Kyohei? _

"Get your ass up! Don't make me come down there,"

"Urgh..."

"_Sunako Nakahara_!" There was an edge of desperation in his beautiful voice. "Get up!"

"I can sleep if I want to!"

"Fine! See if I care! Go ahead and get mauled to death by a couple of tigers, you stubborn bitch!"

Sunako bristled and grabbed for her shoe. She hurled it up in what she thought was Kyohei's direction with what could have been deadly aim if it weren't for the black dots clouding her vision.

In slow motion, she watched with distant terror as her studded Mary Jane heel flew up a distance...before falling down with a dull _thud _atop of Christopher's head.

"Uh oh."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: If you want a better visual of the tiger pit, I got my inspiration for it from this 5-minute clip from one of the greatest animes of all time, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: **

**.com/watch?v=6tP-aHlZ-70**

**Not sure if links work on here, but if they don't, then YouTubing "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - The Tail Lover Girl" will bring you to that video.  
><strong>

**Also, I am very slow.**

**But I have an excuse! Sort of. **

**I ended up changing most of the plot (loljkwhatplot) so I had to make sure what I had up before matched up with what I'm planning. **

**Oh boy. Things are about to get messy.  
><strong>

**Also, the rating will go up to M, because of some disturbing things in the upcoming chapters. Probably not sex, though. Well. Maybe.  
><strong>

** I apologize to any surviving readers. Thank you for taking time to read my story and I hope you enjoyed this installment, as short as it was. Thank you to those of you who review, because you inspire to keep writing and doing what I enjoy, so for that, you all have my eternal love and gratitude 3 I would really like to have the next part up sometime during March...I think I can do monthly updates, though I hate it when other authors update that slow...I will try for the second week and the fourth week of every month. **

**Thank you again. :)  
><strong>

**-Pony  
><strong>


	8. Investigator

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wallflower.**

"Would this be a good time to play dead?" Sunako wondered softly to herself as Christopher snarled.

_Plip, plip, plip, PLOP. _

She also wondered if it would be so bad to die in the warm embrace of an angry adolescent tiger. It wouldn't be the worst way to go out; she might even come back to haunt the place, frighten children, and admire all of the most life-threatening animals Mori Zoo offered in the close proximity that being undead could afford.

_Plop...plop..._

So Sunako was understandably calm when Christopher stalked closer, eyes slits, looking as menacing as, well, a stalking striped jungle beast could look. Sunako flinched when something wet and warm dripped down her shoulder. She glanced over and saw rivulets of blood. Surely that couldn't be from her head, could it? She patted her head and confirmed that the blood from her head injury was thickening into a goopy brown consistency, while the blood dripping onto her arm was wet and runny. Not only that, but it was positively _pouring _down the tiger pit now.

_Plopplopplopplopplipplip - GUSH. _

"Shit! Ah! AH!"

"!"

"...hey there, Nakahara,"

"GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

Kyohei stood from his knees, spat out some dirt, and fixed her with an angry look. "Is this the thanks I get for trying to save your clumsy ass?"

"PUT ON SOME CLOTHES, YOU NUDIST BASTARD!"

Admittedly, his descent was far more graceful than Sunako's tumble down the tiger pit. It helped tremendously that his body was free of any earthly attire. Even covered in smudges of dirt and the nosebleeds of females who had watched the celestial being strip, his golden body shone in a way that no mortal body could. Sunako felt her chest clench tightly at the thought.

"It's part of the plan," Kyohei grinned. He jerked her up to standing position by the collar of her shirt, his nose pressed against hers.

Sunako stared, wide-eyed into the ale-colored pinwheel of his iris and his darkening pupils. He drew his breath sharply as he said, "I'm going to do it,"

"Do...?" _..._

He breathed his answer onto her reddening face. "The Pheromone Bomb,"

Kyohei released her collar and she went tumbling back onto her cute little behind. He looked down at her through bronze eyelashes and murmured thoughtfully, "It works on female animals too,"

Sunako blinked rapidly and reined her mind from its trip to the gutter. She quickly registered what he was saying and what his plan was and gaped. Was he stupid?

"Are you stupid?" She yelled. "_Christopher _is male! Your 'Pheromone Bomb' might work-"

"_Will _work," Kyohei corrected with an arrogant smirk.

"On Christopher's mom," Sunako said, frowning at his interruption. "But not on him. And how are you so sure your stupid pheromones will work as a distraction?"

She started suddenly when she remembered that there was a strapping young tiger on his way to maul her and quickly looked over.

Sunako froze.

"Takano," She squeaked.

He cocked a brow at her expression. "What?"

"Your pheromones…they're working," Sunako's finger shook as she pointed at the female tiger directly behind Kyohei. The look in Shelly's eyes was of a different kind of hunger; one that Sunako was not entirely sure was better or worse.

Shelly purred loudly and in one deft movement, she pounced Kyohei before he could turn around.

"Pretty boy!" A female voice cried.

"What? The tigers are attacking him?" Another asked in panic.

"_Where is the zoo police_?"

Sunako, meanwhile, sat there, stunned. Christopher had gone back to grooming himself while his mother aggressively lapped at Kyohei's face.

"Don't make that face," She started again when she heard his strained voice. "I've had worse,"

She could hardly feel her lips move, and when they did, she stiffly asked, "Worse?"

"Bears," Shelly purred louder at the sound of Kyohei's voice. "Wolves. Humans. Birds. Cats," He made a face. "House cats, I mean. This is my second jungle cat. Probably,"

Sunako was struck by a cornucopia of feelings ranging from envy, concern, fear, and admiration.

"Eat this, _cat_!"

Sunako felt her heart stop when a high-heeled shoe went flying towards Shelly's head. She traced the projectile up to the manicured hand belonging to an absurdly jealous Kyohei-fangirl.

"Yeah!"

"REEBOK!"

"NIKE!"

"_STEVE MADDEN_!"

Suddenly, there was enough footwear in the air to rival the percentage of atmospheric gases.

"That pretty boy belongs to _everyone_!"

"_Everyone_!"

"Quit hogging him!"

"Get off of him!"

Shelly and Christopher roared and swatted at the shoes hurtling their way. Kyohei began wiggling out of Shelly's grasp, but a reprimanding paw slammed him back under her. Sunako could only dumbly stare at the dirt collecting under Kyohei's fingernails as he struggled. He might have said something, but Sunako wouldn't hear.

Suddenly, her survival instincts kicked in. Sunako began to backpedal until her back hit the wall. She stood and began to climb up the pit, using her fingers and toes to create grooves in the wall. However, her usual strength had been sapped and her muscles were still unbearably sore. Sunako gritted her teeth, her nails burying themselves in the dirt wall. Her shoulders stiffened and then sagged uselessly, and for the first time, Sunako's grace and flexibility failed her. She yelped as she fell back onto her sore behind.

"Buddha _damn _swim practice. Why did this have to happen when I can't even move my body properly? Buddha-forsaken universe conspiring against me, I see," Sunako griped.

Without turning around, she called to Kyohei, assuming the poor boy was still trapped.

"Takano! I'll come back for you. I just need to," Sunako grunted as she clawed back into the wall. "Get out first,"

"Man, you're slow,"

Kyohei was already out of the pit and had evidently ripped a couple of yards worth of the railing and turned it into a makeshift ladder, which he extended to Sunako now.

She let the "slow" comment roll off her back like water off a duck as she worked her way up. She figured he had escaped while the tigers were battling footwear and thusly forwent asking. Right now, she had to focus on getting out. Luckily, the bars of the railing worked effectively as rungs, as Sunako soon found herself eye-level to Kyohei's dirty sneakers. Strong, warm hands grabbed her hands and hauled her up. Very suddenly, Sunako found herself crushed against Kyohei's bare chest.

_Uh..._

He instinctively caught Sunako around her waist. Her warm weight pressed snugly into him, her head under his chin. He absentmindedly tugged at a lock of her black hair and stared down at her pale, unconscious face.

"You know," he murmured into her bangs. "You're a troublesome woman, Sunako Nakahara."

He brought her knees up so that he was carrying her like a princess. Casting a look over his shoulder at the chaos the belated zoo keepers were trying to end and a narrow-eyed glare at the scrawny girly boy who had taken the girl in his arms out on a rather abysmal date, Kyohei began his journey to the hospital.

* * *

><p>Not only had it blistered, but the burn on her ring finger turned into a blood blister. According to the dusty volume in one of her aunt's libraries, a blood blister was when blood mixed with the fluid in the blister.<p>

Nonetheless, it had hurt enough to make Sunako cry out her first bad word at the age of seven. She alternated watery-eyed glares at the stove and then at the ugly, puffy thing festering on her finger. Sunako had wanted to cry for her mother, but when she had asked where her parents had gone, her eccentric aunt had pressed a pretty manicured finger to her lips and said they were playing hide-and-seek.

Sunako had desperately, frantically, and miserably looked around for somebody, _anybody _to help her. It was the second week since her aunt had gone on a trip to some strange place. Sunako was slowly getting used to her paternal aunt's frequent absences, but this was by far the longest time. Sunako had already eaten all of the foods that didn't require cooking. She had thought about taking her allowance to the store, but her mother had told her to never go anywhere without an adult, so Sunako stayed put.

She had tried her hand at boiling some water to make some instant miso soup for breakfast, but all she had made was a mess and one heck of a boo-boo.

"It's the least gourmet food item in the house!" Sunako murmured angrily, furiously flipping her finger in the air. "Why couldn't I make it?"

She had stroked her chin for a while after that. And a while after that, seven year-old Sunako Nakahara taught herself how to boil water.

* * *

><p>"Urgh. Damn you, hemophilia."<p>

Sunako woke in the hospital bed, alone, save for her faithful IV pole. She had awoken some time ago, after experiencing the strange memory of why she had that round scar on her ring finger.

"Voices?" Sunako mumbled, ears perking. She turned to her IV pole and asked, "There are voices, right? Outside of the room and not in my head? Drip once for yes and twice for no,"

_Drip. _

Sunako nodded affirmatively. "I thought so. It's time to investigate."

From her spot in bed, however, investigating would prove to be difficult.

"Right. Well, we part ways now, IV." Sunako plucked the needle out of her vein and rolled out of the bed. She crept to the door and pressed her ear against the door.

"I said I was interning, you moron." said a cold voice like thin ice precariously close to snapping.

"So? Interns can't just go barging into patients' rooms like that!" cried a masculine voice that reached surprisingly high notes.

A tight exhale, followed by, "I have permission,"

"Why this room?"

"I could ask the same,"

"I have some business with her,"

"Business?" Sunako glanced at the IV pole quizzically. "With me?

_Drip?_

"You can do that once I'm out the room," The cold voice continued.

"That voice," Sunako murmured. "It sounds kind of familiar,"

_Drip._

"Now if you'll exc-"

Sunako yelped when the door swung open. _Aw, Buddha! I thought he was going to open the door _after_ he finished talking, not in the middle of his sentence! _

The door slammed her onto her back, her legs spread apart.

"What the - MY EYES!"

Sunako looked up to see the Oda boy - Takenaga, was it? - blushing profusely and backpedaling into that red-haired boy she had seen at the zoo.

"Oh, don't be such a virgin. Besides, you're trying to be a doctor, aren't you? Other peoples' private parts aren't private for you anymore," scoffed the red-haired boy. He kneeled before her knees and smiled. "My, you don't even remember my name and you're already opening up to me,"

_? _

"Nakahara-san, I'm an intern, not a gynecologist," Takenaga groaned in embarrassment behind his palms and pointed between her knees. Sunako looked down and blinked at her position - on her back, knees pointed up, legs spread...

The red-haired boy leaned closer to her and whispered, "You're wearing a hospital gown, kitten."

Panting, Sunako pounded on her chest in order to tell her heart to stop being so damn noisy. Her pulse drummed in her ears, which were fuchsia from flashing a body part she imagined was especially reserved for her future husband. Better yet, Sunako ruminated, with her palms over her burning ears and cheeks, she had flashed _two boys_. Somewhere in the clouds, her guardian angel was most likely laughing at her and documenting her life into some teenage porn in page form.

Sunako's ruminating led her feet to wander absently through the halls of the hospital. When Sunako had ran out of her room, screaming like a mad woman, the nurses in the hallway had been too startled to apprehend her. The two boys were stunned to the spot by her lung capacity and thus had not run after her.

She let out a sigh. There were numerous cuts, scrapes, scratches, and bruises on her body - all of which had been treated and bandaged accordingly. She imagined the blood loss must have been pretty bad if she still felt light-headed.

"Even after all of this, all you think about is work! Work, work, work! Huh!"

Sunako stopped and peered curiously at the door of the room where the shouting was coming from. The door was opened slightly, facilitating eavesdropping.

"I never learn, do I?" Sunako muttered to herself, thinking once again of the result of her last investigation and cringing once again before indulging her curiosity. But then again, leaving the door open was like an invitation to kill the cat.

Inside, Sunako spotted a tall woman with dark blonde hair crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at a bed-ridden man. The woman shouted, "In case you forgot, you've got a family. Me and Kyohei!"

_Kyohei? My Kyohei? Wait, no. Not MY Kyohei. I meant Takano! Takano Kyohei is who I meant. _

"I don't have amnesia. I'm here because I was in a coma. Of course I remember," The man replied irritably. He looked older than his wife, though his stare was sharp and shrewd. He folded his hands together on his lap and casually said, "I saw the boy today,"

"He's cute like me," His wife said angrily.

The man smiled. "He's naughty like you. He was supposed to be in school when he visited me,"

_Kyohei wasn't at school today either. What a coincidence._

"Oh, I missed you, you stupid man!" His wife cried and flung herself into his arms. The man grunted and patted her hip. "I was scared," She wailed. "All the time, I was scared."

Then she kissed him. Aggressively. Aggressively as a wife with a husband who had just awaken from a coma would kiss her husband.

_Talk about moody. _Sunako wondered if she was supposed to be touched by the scene. She turned away and said,

"Ew."

"Just what the hell are you doing out of bed?" Kyohei's voice demanded from behind her.

Sunako started and pounded her chest again. Her pulse positively hummed at the sight of him. She noted that he was similarly bandaged up and dressed in a white wife-beater and scrubs pants.

"Well?" Kyohei asked, frowning. "You conked out _again_, like a goddamn flower. Why aren't you resting?"

"If anyone's a flower, it's you," Sunako responded unenthusiastically. She found herself wondering why she couldn't have a civil conversation with the guy and was immediately reminded of why when he opened his mouth and said,

"I guess you're not," He sneered and said, "You're not pretty enough to be a flower,"

"How can you be so mean to a patient?" Sunako whined.

"You're not acting like a patient," He reminded pointedly. He gestured impatiently at her. "Come on,"

Sunako deflated, a sudden bout of dizziness making her lean against the wall.

Kyohei quickly steadied her with an arm around her waist. "You okay?" He asked, his voice husky.

Sunako was about to respond when -

"Sunako! Oh man, are you okay?" Big, teary eyes filled her vision when Yuki flew at her. "I'm really, really sorry about everything. Why aren't you in bed? Do you need help? Do you wa-"

"She's fine," Kyohei snapped and shifted Sunako so she was pressed into his side, away from the other boy.

Yuki looked up in awe at Kyohei and asked, "Who are you?"

Kyohei was frowning again, his fingers clenching into her side.

Sunako winced and snapped, "Ow. Let go, would you? I have a bruise the size of Russia there, you moron,"

Kyohei gave her an annoyed look, but loosened her grip anyway. Meanwhile, Yuki blinked patiently at the other boy.

Kyohei disclosed through gritted teeth, "Kyohei Takano."

"I'm Yukinojo Tomoya. It's nice to meet you,"

Sunako looked up at Kyohei expectantly. When his features remained hard and unfriendly, Sunako sighed loudly and said, "Your manners suck. Deep, deep, deep down, Kyohei's pleased to meet you too,"

Yuki nodded with the same discomfort he regarded Sunako with. "Well, uh, do you want me to take you home?"

"I can go home by myself," Kyohei said belligerently.

"…I was talking to Sunako,"

"I'm taking her home,"

"It's _her_ decision if _she_ wants to go home with Yuki," Sunako said waspishly and elbowed Kyohei roughly. She softened her features at Yuki. "Thank you, but you should go ahead. I'll be fine,"

"Sure. I guess I'll see you." Yuki nodded again and walked away.

"What a fucking flower." Kyohei snorted, his eyes stalking Yuki's retreating back.

"Your manners really _suck_."

"Your taste really sucks,"

"Kyohei?" The door to the room they had been in front of opened, revealing the woman Sunako was eavesdropping on before.

Kyohei raised his brows and said, "Mom?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**I hate it as much as other readers hate it when authors stop updating for a while (damn you, reality! *shakes fist*) but I was failing classes left and right and I had metric shit-tons of work to make up/finals to ace so that I would not fail. I am, unfortunately, a shitty student and have maintained straight D's throughout my high school career. This basically happens every year; I slack off the entire school year and then cram like a mad hen at the very end.**

**Remember when I said (some author's note in the beginning chapters) that I had this story all planned out?**

**Yeah?**

**well...let me explain through this analogy: say I was going to borrow a friend's bike, bike to the store, buy some fruit, and come home. But then, after I buy some fruit, I hear that a 7-11 is opening three blocks away from the store, so I bike my cute little butt to the 7-11 and buy myself a couple inches around my waist. When I come out of the store, some asshole steals my bike and rides away with my fruit, but I just ate, so I can't run after him because it's bad for digestion, so I go sit down by a park across the street. Some kid at the park hoses me down with a water gun and then I proceed to battle everything below my chin in aquatic warfare. I forget about the bike and start going home to change, but then I get hit by a truck, so I have to go to the hospital. I fall madly into an unrequited love with the hospital's janitor, but he's married to my doctor, who, in spite, injects me with enough morphine to put me in a coma. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, since, you know, I was hit by a truck not too long ago. A nurse then enters my room and tries to steal my kidneys to sell on the black market, but she is thwarted by another doctor, with whom she's been having an illicit affair with. I realize that this doctor is the asshole who stole my friend's bike. My rage lifts my morphine-induced coma and I pimp-slap that nurse and stuff my organs back inside of me and stitch myself up. Then I interrogate the asshole doctor for stealing the bike. He tells me his sister told him that the bike tires were pumped with poisonous gas and that since a friend was borrowing it, he needed to find it pronto. That friend is me, so I forgive the good doctor and we begin an illicit affair. When I wake up after a night of sweet, sweet lovin', he's stolen my shoes and fled to Egypt, so I follow him there. There, a zombie apocalypse is occurring, and the doctor and I must fight them off with my shoes, which contain the antidote. We save the day and return home, but then I realize that asshole stole my fruit.**

**basically...my imagination runs too fast and keeps changing my plot lines. so like, I'll be all set for a plot, but new ideas keep sprouting up and I end up incorporating those new ideas, but then I have to change other parts of the plot or else none of it makes sense...just like this long, rambling author's note.**

**I just got carried away with the backstory and changed a lot of it, but I had to find a way to be consistent with what I already have published here, since I don't feel like rewriting the chapters that are already out.**

**so that's why it took so long to update.**

**eternal love for all of you who have reviewed and thank you for reading :) **


	9. Anticlimactic

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wallflower.

"Kyohei?" The woman alternated stares between her son and Sunako as the pair entered the hospital room. "I thought you already visited Papa today,"

_So she _is _Kyohei's mom. And the guy in the bed is his, _Sunako smiled wickedly,_ 'Papa'. Cute. _

Mrs. Takano flung her hands to her mouth and gasped as she looked Kyohei up and down.

"Why are you all bandaged up? And why is your girlfriend all bandaged up? Oh, you stupid boy!" Mrs. Takano cried and thumped her son on the head.

"Ow!"

"I told you not to hit girls,"

"I didn't beat her up!" Kyohei hissed as he rubbed his abused head.

"As if you could," Sunako scoffed. "I could break your jaw twenty ways with my little toe,"

"The hell you could!"

Sunako turned her attention away from Kyohei's indignant visage and towards his mother's.

Kyohei's mother was tall and shapely, with dark blonde hair that had the same shampoo-commercial shine Kyohei's did. Her eyes were a lighter color and rounder than Kyohei's, and her mouth much smaller. Essentially, she was a MILF if Sunako ever saw one.

"Chinami," Papa Takano called, his voice hoarse. "More ice chips, please,"

"Kyohei's here with his girlfriend," Chinami Takano called back cheerfully.

"She's not my girlfriend," Kyohei muttered and avoided eye contact with Sunako, who looked at the slight redness on his cheekbones thoughtfully.

"Girlfriend? Boy, you grew up faster than I thought," His father said with a chuckle.

"Hello Mr. Takano," Sunako greeted politely.

She found herself picking up what Kyohei had inherited from his dad. Sunako noted the same mischievous, fox-like face and narrow, dark eyes. She also noted that Papa Takano was studying her face in a way that a person who was not as hyper-observant as Miss Sunako Nakahara herself would not notice. His eyes and mouth thinned ever so slightly, while his face still looked warm and friendly.

_In other words, a crafty fellow. Nothing like that no-good son of his. _

His eyes and mouth softened, indicating that his inspection of her was over with. Sunako glanced at Kyohei, who was still being fussed over by Mama Takano.

"Kyohei," Papa Takano said slowly, not removing his stare from Sunako's. "You bring your girlfriend over sometime, eh? I'd like to talk to her,"

"You can talk to her now,"

"I'm sleepy now," Papa Takano grumbled and sunk into his pillow.

Kyohei clicked his tongue and grabbed Sunako's elbow. "Later, old man." He said as he dragged Sunako out with him.

"Your dad seems interesting," Sunako remarked as Kyohei ushered her ever so roughly back to her room.

Kyohei stiffened suddenly. The young girl found herself slamming into his hard back. She peered around his back, only to have his grip on her elbow tighten. The golden-haired boy spun around with his hands on her shoulders. He looked back at her hospital room and quickly said,

"How about we take you home instead, eh? You can rest up better there than on these shitty hospital beds,"

"Why the sudden change of heart?" asked a perplexed Sunako. She tried to crane her neck to look around at what had disturbed him so much, but all she saw was Kyohei. "What did you see? Why can't I go back to my room?"

"Wanna steal a wheelchair?"

"Don't change the subj - wait, wheelchairs?"

"Wheelchairs."

"That wasn't very exciting," Sunako pouted with her fists under her chin. "The nurse just gave me a wheelchair. She just _gave _it. She even _smiled_,"

"This is a hospital, you moron," Kyohei said as he pushed her chair. "Not exactly street racing,"

"Still," Sunako whined. "I was expecting her to give chase or something,"

"Nurse Mei has chronic hay fever and glaucoma in her left eye," A cool voice said from behind them. Slow, measured steps clicked towards them as Takenaga Oda finished with a snide, "She also wears clogs. I hardly expect her to be able to give chase to two healthy teenagers,"

"You're that Oda kid," Kyohei watched him sharply as he approached.

Takenaga gave the other boy an apathetic glance before he looked at Sunako. "Sunako Nakahara, I request a favor of you,"

Sunako squinted at him and diplomatically folded her fingers across her lap. "What kind of favor?"

"All I ask of is your company,"

"You can ask her out on a date once she can walk," Kyohei shoved the wheelchair forward, nearly jerking Sunako out.

"You misunderstood," Takenaga said levelly. He studied Kyohei and a corner of his lips lifted arrogantly as he continued, "I merely wish to borrow Miss Nakahara's company. My request carries no romantic intentions,"

Kyohei returned Takenaga's stare with a lip curl. He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin as he sized the dark-haired boy up. Sunako stared between the two. The tense atmosphere they were creating as they stared each other down made her distinctly uncomfortable. She frowned at the boys and chalked this up as another example of male behavior she would never quite understand.

"You know," She said sharply, no longer able to stand watch. "It is my decision whether or not I agree,"

"I said I was taking you home, Nakahara," Kyohei snapped, eyes still glaring into Takenaga's. "Unless you lost your damn memory too,"

"I didn't lose my damn memory. In fact, I don't see why I should bother letting you take me home when you keep insulting me. Takenaga here looks like a perfect gentleman,"

Kyohei's jaw clenched. He shot her a dark look before his shoulders loosened and he rolled his eyes. "Sure, _looks _like a perfect gentleman until he slips Buddha-knows-_what_ into your drink and then you wake up starving and dressed like a woman-"

"Oh, enough with your past trauma," Sunako waved her hand in annoyance. Then, she grinned cheekily. "And did you say 'Buddha-knows-what'?"

"Fuck it," Kyohei groaned and rubbed his eye. "You're rubbing off on me,"

"_Ahem_," Takenaga cleared his throat as he looked between the two. "Miss Nakahara, you haven't answered me,"

_What is with all these pretty boys asking me out? I wonder if Kyohei's pheromones are rubbing off on _me.

"I don't see why not," Sunako said with a suffering sigh. "I'm at the peak of my youth, so I might as well enjoy all the male attention I can get so I can look back on my life and not regret breathing for so long. Besides, it's not like I can't defend myself if something _is_ up,"

Kyohei's look of disbelief remained. "Really, Nakahara? You're really going to go out with a stranger?"

"He's not really a stranger. I mean, his mom knows me, apparently,"

"How do you know she wasn't lying?"

"Because I have proof," Takenaga stepped towards Sunako. He pulled a leather wallet out of his dress pants. The insides of the wallet were impeccably organized, Sunako noted in wonder, as he opened the wallet and pulled out a picture. "Here,"

Sunako took it.

"I figured you might be skeptical about this since I'm asking so abruptly, so I brought picture evidence," Takenaga explained.

Three young and beautiful women were in the picture. One of the women was Auntie, with longer sandy brown curls and the same youthful sparkle in her pretty violet eyes. The next woman had a sharp black bob and dark eyes. Kyohei peered over her shoulder and muttered near her ear,

"That's Oda's mom."

"And that," Sunako whispered at the warm, bright smile on the long, dark-haired woman in the center, holding a baby Sunako. "is my mother."

"She's hot," Kyohei said in surprise.

"Don't be so surprised," Sunako retorted waspishly. "I've been told I look just like her,"

Before Kyohei could make a crack at her looks, Takenaga took the picture back and returned it to his wallet. "Tell me Miss Nakahara, how many aunts do you have?"

"My mom's an only child and my dad only had a younger sister, Auntie,"

"Hm,"

"Why?"

"I will explain this to you if you join me. It would seem that there are many things that you aren't aware of," He said cryptically. "Now if you will excuse us," Takenaga motioned for Kyohei to release his hold on the wheelchair. Kyohei snorted and released it.

"She's all yours," He sneered and walked away. Sunako watched his retreating back as he returned to his father's room.

Takenaga cleared his throat. He smiled politely at her as he wheeled her towards the exit. Once again, Sunako found herself cursing her curiousity.

"This place is pretty far out," Sunako commented on the fancy restaurant Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome had taken her to. She had swapped her wheelchair for a luxuriously upholstered chair and now sat comfortably across from her new companion.

"There's an all girls' school nearby," Takenaga replied casually. His eyes wandered about before returning to Sunako's violet stare, his face a mixture of scheming, determined, and satisfied.

"I noticed," Sunako had felt the death glares of many girls from behind their cellphones ever since Takenaga had made the mistake of helping her out of her wheelchair. Sunako watched him curiously as they waited for their meals. It was approaching evening and she wondered if she should bother calling Auntie to tell her of her whereabouts. She wondered if her guardian had any idea what had happened today.

"You said you were going to explain," Sunako began. "You know, about that picture. And other stuff,"

Takenaga smiled faintly as he leaned back in his seat. "You get straight to the point, don't you? I admire that. I suppose I'll do the same," He exhaled slowly and leaned back in his seat. Takenaga steadied his gaze with Sunako's and said, "You and I are cousins. First cousins,"

Sunako eyes widened and her mouth parted as she gawked at the boy's calm but serious expression.

"My mother - you met her the other night, remember? She is your aunt's older sister. I believe she was the middle child, your father being the oldest and your aunt being the youngest,"

"How come Auntie never mentioned it?" Sunako asked slowly, more to herself than to Takenaga, her brows furrowed.

"That," Takenaga said as he folded his hands together on the table. "has everything to do with our family history. You, Miss Nakahara, were born Oda Sunako. Your father, at one time, was the...the _boss_ of the family," He drawled, his eyes sharply studying her reaction. "He was a rather intimidating fellow. At the base, he was just fiercely loyal to his family. Our family. To the Oda clan,"

"The Odas...wait, as in _the _Oda family?" Sunako said in a small voice. "You - we - that means my dad - I mean, th - we're _Yakuza_?"

"Indeed," Takenaga gave her a hard stare. "I should hope that you are aware of how we function. We're not villains," He said dryly at her discomfort and disbelief. "You should keep mind that we sponsor many of the summer festivals here and provide immediate relief in times of need, just to name a few of our activites. We are here to help out those in need," He added as an afterthought, "For a price, of course,"

Sunako mulled over this. She recalled a time in middle school when one of the girls in her class had worked illegally as a host. Money was tight, so she had tried to help out by working. Then she noticed that one of her customers had turned into a stalker. She didn't want to get the police or her parents involved, so she had gone to the Yakuza for help. Sunako distinctly remembered her relief, for she never heard of the stalker ever again. However, she had also heard numerous stories of the Yakuza blackmailing businesses and taking advantage of young girls of other Yakuza families.

"We may also partake in questionable business practices," Takenaga smiled his small, arrogant smile. "But we do have mouths to feed. Anyway, the sooner you accept your blood, the easier this will be,"

"But none of _this _makes sense," Sunako said, gesticulating wildly and drawing stares from fellow diners. "I am Nakahara, not Oda,"

"You're sixteen now, right? So eight years ago, I believe, your last name was legally changed,"

"I wasn't old enough when I was eight, was I?"

"Often times I find that the line between legal and illegal is a very thin one when one hails from the Oda clan," Takenaga retorted drolly.

"What happened eight years ago that I had to change my name to Nakahara? And the last time I saw you, you said some weird stuff about my parents, too,"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to answer you at the moment," Takenaga looked around abruptly. If she wasn't so busy being frustrated at her cryptic, long-lost cousin, Sunako would have noticed the way his jaw tightened and his nose flared in obvious annoyance as his eyes locked on something outside, through the restaurant window. His swiftly returned to his arrogant, charming self, dark eyes mesmerizing as they stared into Sunako's eyes. "Besides, if I tell you everything now, you won't have an excuse to see me. For now, that is all,"

"What do you mean, 'that is all'? You - You just told meall of this - this...I don't even know how to react to what you're telling me!" She cried and stood up to slam her hands on the table and cause a scene the way only she knew how. Until she realized, of course, that her blood was still recuperating and she was still light-headed.

She wanted to curse at her body for being so flimsy and flowery when her knees buckled. Takenaga rushed to her side and held her up.

Suddenly, all was silent. Sunako could hear the rustling of someone uncomfortably shifting. She knew that the girls in the room were glaring at her, but Sunako noticed that the girls wearing the all girls' school uniforms seemed more indignant than envious.

"_There's an all-girls school nearby_."

Why did the girls look so offended _for _someone? Perhaps, Sunako glanced warily up at the handsome boy, perhaps he was romantically involved with a girl from their school and didn't appreciate Sunako home-wrecking. She bit her lip, fidgeting when she noticed that Takenaga's platonic hold had suddenly become tighter and more intimate. She could feel his warm breath on her neck and his body firmly pressed against hers. He was definitley over-stepping the boundaries of familial love.

Takenaga released her after a few moments too long, grabbed her arm, and began leading her out of the restaurant. She vaguely wondered about the bill, but then she remembered what the strange boy had said about legal and illegal and oh my Buddha was she really Yakuza? And did he dig her or what?

Sunako noted a group of girls from the all girls' school huddling around the exit. In addition, she caught sight of a large number of scarlet-haired people watching them carefully. _That _was exceedingly strange. Takenaga's head turned discreetly in their direction, having also noticed them, and she heard him click his tongue and exhale tightly. With a hurried tug of her arm, he managed to maneuver their way out.

She spotted a black car purring at the curb and with another tug and a whispered, "Get in," Sunako found herself sitting on plush leather, the black dots in her vision receding as she rested.

"I apologize for the manhandling," Takenaga said quietly as he patted his forehead with a hankerchief with a distinct symbol embroidered on the corner. "I imagine your guardian is worried about you, but I'm afraid you won't be able to assauge her. At least, not tonight,"

Sunako looked at him blandly.

With a grim twist of his lips, he muttered, "We're being followed."

Sunako sunk lower into her seat. "Oh,"

"'Oh'? Is that all?" Takenaga asked, looking pointedly ahead.

"You can kiss my butt and call me Michael Myers for all I care," She turned over, cradled in the plush leather. "Too much is happening for my brain to understand,"

The dark-haired boy sighed. "Well, Miss Nakahara, things aren't going to get any easier from here on out, I can promise you that,"

Sunako groaned and stared through her window, at the darkening sky and the balmy breeze playing with her bangs. She took a quick glance to the side and saw that there was one black limo with tinted glass windows. Sunako made out the outline of a chauffer's hat and white gloves. She slumped back in her seat.

"Well this isn't very exciting,"

"You aren't asking questions, Miss Nakahara?" Takenaga asked mildly.

"You can call me Sunako. And no, I'm not asking questions because I have this feeling that you aren't going to give me a clear answer,"

He simply stared out of his window with a smile playing on his lips. "We're putting on a show. That's all you need to know right now,"

The Nakahara residence came into view. Sunako sluggishly crawled out of the limo, ignoring Takenaga's proferred hand. She had to accept the hand on the small of her back, though, as she stumbled up the stairs. The black dots were resurfacing in her vision and her head felt light and fuzzy.

"I must thank you, Miss Na - Sunako, for accompanying me tonight. I will contact you again to give you more information and to make a proposition. I will take my leave," Takenaga lifted Sunako's knuckles to his lips. "Farewell and goodnight."

"'Night," Sunako mumbled. She stared blankly at his back as he descended the stairs. His limo disappeared into the night, but the stalking limo hummed at the curb. She squinted down at it and it quickly drove away.

Sighing, she picked through her messenger purse and opened the door.

Plunking down on the sofa, Sunako laid her forearm on her forehead and closed her eyes.

When she woke, it was because of the chill that brought her bare, goose-bumped legs up to her chest. Sunako snapped to alert, pulse buzzing in her ear, as she took in her surroundings. She exhaled. Home.

Sunako pressed her palms to her face, wondering about her aunt, wondering about her long-lost Yakuza family - which, by the way, was still a big pill to swallow - wondering who had stalked her and Takenaga yesterday, wondering about the strange people at the restaurant, wondering how the railing to a tiger pit of a zoo founded by the Moris' - the most wealthy of the Yakuza families - had fallen off, wondering how it was only her who had fallen in, and wondering if all the women who had plunged their footwear into the hellish pit of death hopped home together with arms linked around their shoulders.

Then she thought of Kyohei - Kyohei, who's parents she had met today. It was her first friendly meeting with the parents of an acquaintance.

"Acquaintance?" Sunako murmured to herself. She thought of his heroics, which had very much saved her life when she had been physically unable to help herself. Well, okay, fine. _Fine. _She had thought of him a little bit more and decided that "acquaintance" was too cold, too unfriendly of a word to refer to that boy.

Kyohei Takano had become a friend. Her friend.

And it made her insides feel feverish. Was this what happened when one had friends? Their insides melted and oozed out of their orifices? Oh, shucks, she knew it had to be too good to be true.

Her thoughts changed course and took to her paranoia. She remembered the incident with the blood thinner-laced wine and now the freak tiger incident. Both accounts had left her body weak and her mind heavy with frightened thoughts. The stalking car, now that she thought about it more, was beginning to scare her. She was alone in this enormous house, possibly, nay, most likely with someone out to get her.

And Takenaga - what did he seem to know? He was by far the most confusing out of all the pretty boys she knew. Sunako scrunched her brows, leaning forward with her elbows on her thighs in thought.

They were related - Sunako was related to the Oda family. Auntie had an older sister, Takenaga's mother, whom she never mentioned. The way Takenaga spoke of her parents sounded eerily like they had died, which couldn't be true. They were working in Africa.

_Yet they hardly contact you, _A small voice said._ The little letters in between all say general things like, "How are you doing? We miss you." _

A cold coil of dread wound itself in Sunako's gut. No. They couldn't be dead. Takenaga had to be lying.

_Maybe everything he's said is a lie,_ Another voice reasoned. _Maybe he's playing with you. _

"But either way, none of this makes sense," Sunako hissed, raking her fingers through her bedhead. She groaned softly and said quietly to herself, "I just want everything to go back to how it was before, before it all got so complicated,"

Her scattered thoughts wildly richoteing through her head first thing in the morning was doing her no good, so Sunako shook her head, as if to erase all the thoughts in her head, and went to the kitchen to make some tea.

Laying all her thoughts out there was one thing, but organizing her thoughts was a whole other thing,

She grabbed a pen and paper and wrote out:

**Takenaga's Master Plan**

**- tells me that : **

**...we're the Odas**

**...that my dad used to be the boss**

**...(implies) that my parents are gone**

**- takes me to a weird restaurant **

**- knows we were being stalked (and by who, perhaps) **

**- kissed my hand (how old is this kid? really.) **

**+ : He really is family and is trying to tell me something important **

**- : He's not family and has some secret agenda, like sex traficking me for something, say, Auntie did. (I do not put that past her.) **

**Why Someone Would be Out to Get me**

**- I'm filthy rich and therefore have influence**

**- I may or may not be part of the Yakuza**

**- I may or may not have been a former Yakuza boss's daughter**

**- Auntie. **

**- hanging around Yuki, Kyohei, and now, Takenaga (crazed fangirls) **

**How These Things Relate to One Another**

**- Yakuza**

**- Auntie **

**- Takenaga **

"I feel a little more organized," Sunako murmured, tapping the pen to her chin. She clenched her fist, her chest filling with determination.

She was going to find out about this black area in her memory. She was going to figure out her family's history. She would do it because by Buddha she was not Miss Sunako Nakahara for nothing.

Sunako re-read it her list and nodded a little in satisfaction. "This is a start, but I still have lots of sleuthing to do." She glanced down at her wrinkled top and her shorts, which had ridden up and frowned. "But first, I must become one with my inner sleuth."

Then the doorbell rang.

She went to the door and peered through the peephole. There was no one there. The bell rang once more.

"What in the name of Buddha?" She whispered and slowly opened the door open.

A/N: Oh man I haven't update in so long. I am so sorry to those of you who were reading and then - bam - no updates for forever.

I have a couple of excuses, namely that my internet connection rolled over and died for a couple of months, my computer crashed so I was busy getting it repaired, and I just finished applying to college! (exciting!)

Anyway. I have a solid-ish plot now that I hope to follow. It gets hard to update regularly when life catches up and bites me in the butt. God damn it, life.


	10. Noi

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wallflower.

"SUNAKO-TAAAN!" Two blonde heads tackled Sunako onto her rear.

"Oof!"

"I thought you died!" Gin bawled in her ear, while Yae wiped her nose on a lock of Sunako's hair.

"You guys," Yuki called as he ran up the steps. He actually managed to look angry at the twins and scolded, "You know Sunako is hurt, so don't do that!"

"Sunako-tan," Gin turned watery eyes on Sunako. "A tiger tried to eat you yesterday,"

"It did,"

"There was a video on Blue Tube about it," Yae sniffled and poked a finger into the hole in Sunako's shirt. Sunako swatted her hand away as she stood up from her sore behind and dusted off the back of her shorts.

Gin turned to Yae inquisitively. "Why was that boy naked?"

"Yuri says that her dad takes off his clothes whenever her mom is upset," Yae confided.

Sunako hid her laughter with a smile. Yuki shrugged. "Public schools," he explained.

He turned big, concerned amber eyes on her. "You're okay now, right? I couldn't really talk to you before because of that guy you were with at the hospital. Man, he was scary. But I'm really sorry about that day. I didn't think it would turn out like that but I guess it was my fault for taking you to the Mori Zoo," Yuki's face reddened and he hastily said, "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with the Mori Zoo but I should have known better - I mean, what am I saying? All that matter's now is that you're okay,"

"I guess. But um, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," He rubbed the back of his head, his face still bright red. "I was rambling,"

_Why must everyone speak to me in riddles? Why?_

Before Sunako could interrogate Yuki further -

"Sunako!" A middle-aged woman with short blonde hair bounded up the stairs. The Tomoya matriarch pulled Sunako into a warm hug. Mrs. Tomoya kept her hands on the girl's shoulders as she inspected her from head to toe.

"You poor baby," Her eyes sparkled with emotion as she grasped Sunako's hands. _Now I see where Yuki gets it from. _"Yuki told me about how you have hemophilia so I thought I'd buy you some vitamin K supplements," Mrs. Tomoya explained as she fished the bottle out of her purse and handed it to Sunako. "To help clot your blood,"

"Oh, it's mild. Really, you shouldn't have," Sunako mumbled to the bottle and twisted it awkwardly in her hands.

"Well, I don't mind. It's nice to have an excuse to see you. I'm busy working at the shop all day," Mrs. Tomoya explained with a 'what can you do about it?' smile. She looked at Sunako sternly and scolded, "You should be more careful,"

"I'll try,"

"I don't want to bother you when you need rest, so we'll be on our way," Mrs. Tomoya smiled gently at her before hollering for Yuki to round up the twins, who had ended up stuck in some rose bushes.

Sunako closed the door and watched Yuki and Gin cry through the window when they pricked their hands on the rose thorns. She glanced down at her own hands, at the cutely wrapped bottle of Vitamin K. "I guess I'll put this in the medicine cabinet." She said to herself absently.

As she ambled through the empty halls, Sunako remembered that her bathroom didn't have a medicine cabinet. She was of optimum health and disliked frills in her bathroom; rather she enjoyed a Spartan affair, with only the essential hygiene products on her counter. If she were to put it in just any random bathroom's medicine cabinet, she figured she'd forget which one.

Sunako stopped beelining for her room and said to herself, "Auntie won't mind if I put this in her bathroom."

Auntie's bathroom, was of course, frills and excess. Sunako waded through all the impractical glittery bathing products and found herself in front of Auntie's magenta medicine cabinet.

It was locked.

"It's locked," She deadpanned. "Why is it locked?"

Sunako furrowed a dark brown and frowned. "Why does it feel like Auntie is keeping secrets from me?" She inspected the padlock between her fingers. "First, the thing about Takenaga's mom being her big sister, and now she's probably smuggling some happy drugs into her medicine cabinet."

It didn't take much time for Sunako to find hedge clippers to break the padlock. She set the giant scissors in the tub and opened the cabinet. Inside, the shelves were lined with little orange bottles, all prescribed to Mine Nakahara. Sunako chewed the inside of her cheek as she took a bottle out to figure out what it held.

"Antidepressants?" Sunako chewed harder. "Antidepressants? For what? I mean, depression, yes, but she always acts so cheery and fluttery." She stared at the shelves thoughtfully. "I can only think of Auntie's husband's death as the source."

Sunako was aware that at some point, Auntie had been married. This had been before Sunako had fallen under Auntie's care. It was around the time that Auntie became her guardian that Sunako learned that Auntie was a widow. Auntie never spoke of him, but Sunako had thought that Auntie had loved him very much if she was always so unsatisfied with all the men she was with and if she was always looking for a man.

"I guess I never thought much about him. My uncle. I don't even know what he looks like, or what his name was, or what he did. I didn't realize that Auntie was still mourning him."

Sunako guiltily shut the medicine cabinet and took the clippers and the supplements with her as she quietly slipped out of her aunt's bathroom. She felt like she had stepped on Auntie's privacy, but at the same time, she felt hurt that her aunt had never talked to her about this. Didn't she think Sunako was mature enough to understand these things? Did she think Sunako wouldn't understand her feelings? Did she think Sunako couldn't sympathize with her?

The teenager went to her bedroom, dropped the supplements onto her nightstand, and went to take a shower. She mulled over some more in the shower. It seemed like Auntie had been disowned or something by the Oda family, if Naomi Oda's acidic reaction to Auntie being Sunako's guardian was anything to go by. Traitor, is what Naomi had called Auntie. Sunako sank into the tub after washing herself. Her wet bangs stuck to her eyes, so she pushed them away. It was sad, that Auntie was left alone without her family and her husband. Was Auntie alone before Sunako became her charge?

Loneliness. Sunako leaned her head back to the tiled wall. She was all too familiar with it. She was lonely at home without Auntie. She had been alone at school for having strange interests and no interest in socializing with her peers. Alone, all the time. Sunako had become used to it, having only her thoughts as her companion as she went through the day. But Auntie, the social butterfly, was always so happy to be around people. How did she deal with her loneliness after her husband's death? Was trying to meet every man in the entire world and downing cabinets full of antidepressants an answer to her loneliness? And if she knew loneliness, then why did she leave Sunako alone all the time? Did she not understand that Sunako hated it too? Did she not care for her niece's feelings? Did she not empathize with Sunako? Why didn't Auntie spend time with her?

Sunako felt the burning in her eyes and blinked rapidly. "Damn it, I thought I washed the shampoo out of my hair." She stopped rubbing her eyes at the quiver in her voice. Then her vision began to quiver with hot tears. Sunako watched as they dropped into the bath water. "Am I...crying?" She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. Maybe if she pushed hard enough, the tears would go back.

sksksksksksksksksks

"So?" The red-head cocked a brow over a periwinkle eye. "You stalked them,"

"I did not _stalk _them. I asked my driver to follow his car. That girl," The other red-head gritted her teeth at mentioning the hussy. "just happened to be there with him,"

Ranmaru Mori crossed his legs and folded his hands elegantly on his knee. "And what did that accomplish?"

"I don't know," Noi Kasahara replied crossly. "But he took her on a date and then drove her home. Why? Why would he do that? I bet it was because his mother doesn't approve of our love so she's hooking him up with some girl,"

Ranmaru shook his head, a similar look of distress on his face. "She is unbelievable. First, she sinks her claws into what's mine, then she goes after Takenaga,"

"And they're first cousins! I mean, at least we're," Noi pointed between herself and Ranmaru. "like, third cousins!" Noi cried out. She hugged her pillow angrily and rocked herself back and forth on her bed. "And my poor Takenaga has no choice but to listen to his mom. He's such a good son,"

"That girl will spread her legs for anyone," The boy squeezed the upholstery of the chair he was sitting on. "Literally. She gave me and Takenaga a show, that slut,"

"Wait, why was Takenaga in her hospital room?" Noi raked her laquered nails across the pillow, over the little piggies stitched on the fabric. "Oh, I imagine he was trying to explain the situation to her,"

"Perhaps. But she ran away, and after that she was seen leaving with Takenaga," Ranmaru tossed the surveillance tape onto Noi's bed. It bounced to her toes. "I thought I could intercept her, but she didn't return to her room where I was waiting for her,"

Noi frowned and picked up the tape. She set it down on her lap and looked at her fiance. "What's our next plan of action? She's like Rasputin! No matter how much we try, we can't get rid of her. Blood thinner didn't work, tigers didn't work - what do we do? At this rate, we're probably going to end up getting married!"

Ranmaru grimaced at the thought. "We'll have to work harder, then."

sksksksksksksksksks

"My eyes hurt" was the first thought that popped into Sunako's head as she woke up Monday morning. Upon touching the tender, red skin around her eyes, Sunako went to wash her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and the tip of her nose was fading from red to pink.

She still couldn't believe the crying mess she had become that night. The last time she cried...she couldn't even remember. Maybe on the day she was born? Sunako sluggishly readied herself for school, her heart feeling heavy in her chest.

When Sunako arrived to homeroom, her classmates were in an excited buzz. Her homeroom teacher entered after she sat in her seat. She glanced at the seat besides her and found it empty of Kyohei.

"Class," Mr. Homeroom announced. "We have a transfer student,"

When he walked in, the class let out a collective gasp.

"Takenaga?" Sunako muttered to herself, her elbow slipping on her desk in shock. Why was he in her school? Why had he transferred? Why was he in her homeroom?

Takenaga Oda held himself regally at the front of the class. He said to the class with his polite, condescending way, "Hello, I am Takenaga Oda. I hope we can all get along together and work hard this year."

Much like when Kyohei had been introduced, the girls and the boys reacted predictably to the latest addition to their class. Sunako watched his carefully composed face suspiciously. Just what was her enigmatic cousin up to?

His cool gaze fell on Sunako and he acknowledged with her with a slight lift of the corner of his mouth. Takenaga was assigned to a seat at the front of the class, allowing Sunako to stare at the back of his head in an attempt to read his mind. It didn't work, but she did it anyway.

The door slid open and rattled with the force exerted by one Kyohei Takano.

"You're late," Mr. Homeroom frowned and dusted the chalk off his fingers.

"I know," Kyohei stormed through the rows, pausing to shoot Takenaga a look, and sat noisily besides Sunako.

"Good morning," Sunako said to him quietly.

"Morning," He grumbled back. Kyohei's clothes were disheveled and his breathing was slightly labored.

"Sleep in?" She asked while she wrapped a lock of her hair around her pencil.

Kyohei watched her play with her hair for a little before he answered, "I stayed at the hospital with that old fart," His eyes followed her hair as she let it fall from her pencil. "I hate hospital beds,"

Sunako bit her lip thoughtfully before she asked him another question. "If you don't mind me asking, why was your dad in the hospital?"

He raked his fingers through his spiky blonde bangs. "Got in an accident. He was in a coma for a while," Kyohei picked off numbers on his fingers. "I'd say, eight years or so,"

_Eight years again. _A chill shot down Sunako's spine and she shivered.

"What kind of accident?"

_Bang! _"I'm sorry! I'm late!" A flurry of long, auburn hair flew from the door to the front of the classroom. Mr. Homeroom stopped writing on the board and looked at the girl in bewilderment.

The girl smoothed out the front of her navy blue smock, pushed her bangs out her blue-green eyes, and fluffed her hair before giving a brief bow. "Hi, I'm Noi Kasahara! It's nice to meet you all,"

"Ah, Miss Kasahara," Mr. Homeroom composed himself, dusted the chalk off of his fingers once more, and introduced the girl, Noi, to the class. "Yes, we've received another transfer student. Class, this is Noi Kasahara," Mr. Homeroom's frown deepened. "I was going to ask her to introduce herself, but she seems to have done that herself,"

Noi smiled at him sheepishly. She turned to face the class once more and her smile grew. Sunako looked at who she was smiling at, and was surprised to see her cousin on the receiving end of the girl's bright, mega-watt smile.

For his part, Takenaga was momentarily stunned by Noi's appearance, but soon, he was giving her a gentle smile. Somehow, the smile looked unnatural to Sunako. She had trouble scrutinizing his face and his body language from her angle in the back, but she tried her best. Yes, she agreed with herself, that definitely looked like a sugary, generic smile manufactured for girls to trip over their feet and pee themselves over while imagining flowers and sparkles in the background.

"That girl," Kyohei's hand gripped the back of Sunako's chair, his face close to hers as they both watched the exchange between the two new students. Sunako found herself forcing herself to breathe properly. What was it about his my-mom-did-my-laundry/boyish smell that frazzled her so? "That girl was there when that guy gave you that drink. She was with him. I'm pretty sure that was her,"

Sunako regarded Kyohei with a sharp look. "That's suspicious. Very suspicious."

* * *

><p>AN: Wow! Another update within the same month! Madness!

A tad introspective of Sunako and a little more on the mystery that is Auntie.

I'm muy busy right now, but it seems like I'm only ever inspired to write when I have things to do. #avoidance

Since there is a lot of unraveling in this story, when there are huge time gaps between chapters, I think it's harder to read. I even had troube remembering a few things. Also, I've noticed that I've been scrapping the romance a bit in favor of the plot. Sorry 'bout that. This is my first time writing a real, drawn-out, plot-driven story, so bear with me. I still need to practice writing romance, so in the future, I will work harder on making chapters with more romantic interactions between S + K while keeping the story going. Thank you for reading :)


	11. Transferees

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wallflower! **

By lunch time, the entire school was in a hubbub over the new transferees. Noi Kasahara lunched with a ring of classmates around her, fussing over her figure and her long pretty hair and oh that _bento_ looks homemade and did you cook that, Noi-chan? Noi had chosen to stay inside the classroom because her outgoing personality made her want to know everyone in her new class.

The other transfer student, the mysterious and studious Takenaga Oda, had disappeared from his seat in the classroom. Oh, mysterious hunky hunk, said every girl in the general vicinity (probably).

Kyohei and Sunako had, uncharacteristically, decided to stay in the classroom as well, instead of heading up to the roof. It was a beautiful spring day that even someone as gloomy as Sunako could enjoy.

Sunako and Kyohei had their desks pushed together as they huddled over Sunako's boxed lunches. It still needed some getting used to - seeing the wildly handsome Kyohei with the reclusive and straight-up strange Sunako. But the pair seemed attached to the hip when they were together, and together, they were intimidating and exuded an aura that dared anyone to intrude.

They were upholding this aura at the moment, as Sunako stuffed a fried pumpkin bite into her mouth and elbowed Kyohei's shoulder.

"What?" He asked over a mouthful of rice, irritably squinting amber eyes down at her at her interruption.

"Do you copy, Buddha Belly?" She whispered, eyes darting about in a paranoid way.

Kyohei swallowed and made a serious face as he whispered seriously back, "Copy that, Scapula,"

"Got your ears on or is your stomach the only thing you listen to? Put your chopsticks down, dang it. I have some information on our target," She cleared her throat. "From what I've observed, she's got charisma and charms people easily,"

"Typical of any psychopath in cahoots with someone trying to kill someone else with blood thinner," Kyohei mused. He gestured with his chopsticks as he added, "I mean, that girl's gotta be insane. How can she stand being around so many _people_?" Kyohei shuddered.

"Totally abnormal," Sunako agreed wholeheartedly, hunching closer to Kyohei. She exclaimed in a hushed whisper, "How can someone make so many friends in less than an hour? That's totally abnormal. Crazy. Esta loca,"

"One thing I've learned - a golden rule in manhood," Kyohei crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat, and looked her in the eye and sagely said, "Don't stick your dick in crazy,"

"I'll keep that in mind," Sunako sighed. "Thank you,"

"No problem," Kyohei murmured, his gaze dropping to her mouth. He brought his hand up and swiped her bottom lip with his thumb. He looked at his thumb and then showed it to her. "It's a sesame seed,"

Kyohei sparked a tingling sensitivity where he had touched her lip with the warmth of his thumb. It made Sunako's tummy flutter and her breath short. The sesame seed fell off of his thumb and he watched its descent forlornly. Sunako slowly caught her breath and gave a small, uncertain smile. Figures Kyohei would even be upset at one little sesame seed going to waste.

"So what's the plan, Scapula?" Kyohei asked, bronze eyes on her as he resumed eating.

"Wait for further instruction," Sunako was embarrassed by the huskiness in her voice and thanked Buddha sincerely that he hadn't noticed. If he had, he didn't say anything, so it was fine, she supposed.

"Roger that,"

"Over and out - wait, wait! Agent Buddha Belly, the target approaches!"

They sprung away from each other and coolly returned to their lunches. Target 004 walked towards them with an easy smile.

"Hi! I don't think I was able to say hello to you two," Noi smiled some more. How did she maintain such a wide smile while she spoke?

"Not personally, no, but we wouldn't have taken it personally if you didn't come by to say hello," Sunako rambled, her brain short-circuiting a little. Gosh she was pretty.

Noi blinked prettily and smilingly at her (_I wonder, how does one look upon another __**smilingly**__?_)

"I'm Sunako," Sunako relented. Target 004 was good, she had to admit, for being able to force Sunako to divulge information so easily.

Noi turned to blink prettily and smilingly at Kyohei. He looked back at her with his hand supporting his jaw, elbow on the table, his bottom lip sticking out a bit. "Takano," He admitted. Agent Buddha Belly was down for the count. Damn, she was good.

"I'm Noi," She said, blue eyes sparkling. "It's nice to meet you both,"

Kyohei nodded and Sunako ogled some more. Gosh she had a tiny waist. Focus, Scapula! In front of that tiny waist, she was holding a folder with a familiar looking logo on it. The folder supported a sheet with the names of all of Noi's new classmates.

Noi opened her mouth to start a conversation when lunch time ended. Noi smiled apologetically and promised to speak to them later, okay? Okay?

Gosh she had a nice butt.

Kyohei swiped the last egg roll from her lunch box and popped it into his mouth. "She's good, I'll give her that," He said over a mouthful.

"Talking with your mouth full is so sexy," Sunako snapped and shoved his jaw close with the heel of her palm.

Kyohei smirked and snatched her wrist and opened his mouth wide so she could see the chewed and un-chewed pieces of food.

Sunako grabbed her lunch box and hit him with it.

"Violent chicks like you are so uncute*," He scowled but let her get away with the abuse.

"You're such a boy." Sunako scowled back.

Kyohei made a face at her and flipped her off, so Sunako made a face back at and punched him.

After lunch, Kyohei slipped away to take a nap on the roof for the rest of the day, with his hands behind his head and his strides quick. And after that, Sunako planned to slip away to the biology lab for math, because it was math and that was all the explaining she needed to do. She was just about to slide the doors open - she was _this _close to her oasis when -

"I hope you aren't skipping class, Sunako-san,"

Sunako turned around and looked up at Takenaga with a frown. "You aren't in class either," She shot back and gave him her back as she went inside the room.

"I was going to the restroom," Takenaga placed his hands in his pocket casually as he followed her inside.

"_This_ isn't the restroom. And yeah, well, I needed to use the biology lab,"

"For math?"

"Yes,"

She squinted behind him, irritably wondering if he planned on closing the door and shutting out all of that damn fluorescent light any time soon.

"What business do you have in my sanctuary?" The objective word being _my _Sunako thought menacingly, as she huddled on the ground with a jar of large intestine. She scooted away from him with a possessive growl when the dark-haired boy crouched down to her and examined the jar in her arms. In the dark, his eyes glinted and the shadows darkened his face. Somehow, he terrified her.

"You know, your mother was a doctor. Perhaps your interest in biology was inherited from her,"

Sunako's eyes narrowed. Right. There was this confusing family business she had with him. Squashing the fear that crept up on her, she asked commandingly, "Are we having that second date any time soon? 'Cause you have some important things to tell me. About _my _life,"

Takenaga stood up and instead of answering her damn question, not for the first damn time, went about inspecting some damn shelves. Damn.

She eyed him leeringly. "That better be the reason why you're invading my sanctuary right now or else the biology department will have new equipment. And by that I mean I'm going to murder you and stick your body parts in jars full of brine if you don't tell me the when and where. Now,"

"You're very assertive. I like that about you, Sunako-san. It's a trait that the Oda family takes pride in,"

"Oh my Buddha not this cryptic talk again,"

"The market place," Takenaga swiped some dust off of a shelf. He looked at his finger and flicked the gray off of it. He turned to look at her and smiled that polite, it-was-pleasure-doing-business-with-you smile that was starting to piss her off. "We'll go after school,"

"What, you need to go shopping? I didn't think an rich snob like you would need to do his own shopping,"

"Why not? You do your own shopping,"

She glared at him.

He smiled wider. "I believe it is time for me to return. Farewell, Sunako."

"Asshole," She muttered. She stood up and dusted off her bottom and smoothed out her skirt. "Speaking of assholes." She put the jar back carefully, murmuring sweetly to it, before heading to the roof.

"Oof!"

"You awake?" Sunako asked gently, tucking her skirt under her as she sat down besides him.

"I'm awake now that you've stepped on me. What the fuck," Kyohei sat up and rubbed the footprint on his stomach unhappily. "Who does that? You do. Fuck,"

Sunako smiled softly upon him. "You have learned well, young grasshopper, the ways of the Sunako Nakahara,"

"Tch," Kyohei twisted up his handsome face moodily and settled down again with his head on his hands, his arms under him.

Sunako looked up at the brilliant, bright blue sky with the poofy white rabbit-butt clouds bobbing softly through the heavens. A breeze carried the fragrance of falling cherry blossoms through Sunako's long hair and ruffled Kyohei's golden spikes. She gave a content sigh and held her face in her hands. "It's a lovely day today," She admitted.

"Not as lovely as you," Kyohei snarked in a mocking voice and stuck his tongue out at her and when she tried to bite him he elbowed her thigh so hard she fell to her side.

She glowered down at him, but became distracted. The sleeves of his white button-up were rolled up to show off the tan, corded muscle of his forearms, which Sunako stared at with rapt attention, feeling a mix of envy and something that made her feel a bit awkward around him. Friends didn't do things like ogle at their friends, did they? She hoped they did. Although, that would mean he would be able to ogle her. Did she have things he would like to ogle at? Her chest wasn't too bad, she was skinny, but her butt...hm.

"You alright, Nakahara?"

"Hm?" She blinked at him, her attention brought back to their conversation.

"You know, the whole tiger thing. You okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking,"

"You know, when I think about it," Kyohei sat up and pulled down his shirt from where it had ridden up to expose his tanned abdomen. He rubbed his chin and looked at her seriously. "I can't stop thinking that maybe that tiger accident wasn't an accident at all,"

Sunako snapped to attention at that. "Foul play, you mean?"

"Yeah," He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Like, maybe, I dunno, someone wanted you to fall in. I dunno. It's just that Mori Zoo has a good reputation. They never have accidents like that. It's safe, it's got tons of trained zoo keepers, and its animals are secure. Why is it that the day that you went, suddenly the zookeepers suck at their job, the railing wimps out, and someone who looked a lot like the girl who rode your ass during your first swim practice after a swim race against yours truly happened to fall into you. Yeah, Reiko Morimoto was there. And I'm pretty sure she was with the guy who sent you a glass of blood thinner to wash your fucking dinner down. It seems like the perfect accident, and it might just be an accident or a coincidence, but it might not be. Maybe my gut and my memory serve me right and there are people who are trying to kill you,"

Sunako looked at him quietly, her mouth parted slightly. "I haven't thought about that," Her voice was thin and breathy as her mind whirred with the possibilities of what Kyohei told her. "So you think," She began slowly. "That the same people who pulled the blood thinner stunt with me are the same people who caused the incident at the zoo?"

Now that there was a possibility that the zoo accident wasn't an accident at all, Sunako changed the phrase to "incident", as she felt it worked better.

"And you also say that Target 004 - or, I guess, Noi Kasahara, was there the first time there was some attempt at my life. And now she's here. She wasn't there at the zoo, was she?"

"No, it was Reiko Morimoto with that guy,"

"A guy? Like a boy or a man?"

"A teenager. About my build, but I'm taller. A red head. He's hard to miss,"

"So you spotted the same person - a teenage boy - both at the dinner and at the zoo?"

"Yeah,"

Sunako's black brows shot up behind her bangs. "I don't remember doing something so terrible to anyone that he or she would try to kill me. You know by now that I avoid people for the specific reason of avoiding drama. And look where that's gotten me. What have I done?"

"Don't know, Nakahara," Kyohei leaned back on his hands, his bronze brows hard as he thought. "About this guy, though. He knew that you have that blood disorder of yours. Is he some kind of stalker or something?"

"Maybe he's someone of power, someone who was able to find confidential information on me. My medical files are difficult to get a hold of, you know,"

"You saying this guy bribed your doctor for your medical files?"

"Bribery means money, which means power. This person could be a person of power, then," Sunako mused.

"Nice calculations you got there. Makes sense, though. You're a rich and powerful person. You do anything snobby to him, like tell him your mansion was bigger than his or something? Get his panties in a twist?"

"No. When I told you that I avoid people, I especially avoid rich men. They just want to join forces with me or get some property or something stupid like that. Besides that, rich people tend to be huge perverts. You've met my Auntie, haven't you?"

"How can I forget?" Kyohei's face paled slightly. "Maybe some guy didn't like that you played hard to get with him?"

At Sunako's glare, he held his hands up in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm just throwing some shit around,"

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Sunako stood up. "Well, I best get going,"

"What're you up to?" Kyohei squinted up at her through sunlit eyes.

"I'm off to get more questions than answers. And more confused," At Kyohei's questioning expression, she clarified. "I have a follow-up date with Takenaga Oda. Except it's not really date because he's my cousin,"

"Really?" Kyohei said, though Sunako felt that he was not actually surprised.

"Really," She looked at him suspiciously. "I have some things I want to ask him,"

"Alright then," Kyohei stood up. "Come on,"

"Huh? Where are _you _going?" She raised her brows at him as he ran long fingers through his hair.

"Walking you," Kyohei said simply and moved Sunako forward with a hand on the small of her back

"Takenaga is walking with me," She informed him primly, craning her neck to look at where he dared to place his hand on. The nerve!

"I'll walk with you to him then," Kyohei grinned and kept pushing her with the hand on her back as they walked down stairs.

Students were bustling about with cleaning duties and heading out for clubs and athletics when the strange pair walked down the hallway.

"You know, as much as I get the creeps from the new chick," Kyohei began. "I'm glad that she's soaking up the attention,"

Sunako nodded. "You can walk without girls falling across your path swearing undying love and devotion to you for once," She spotted a group of girls from the swim team headed towards the locker room, none of them giving her or Kyohei a second look. "You know, I think the swim team dumped me," Sunako murmured.

"Yeah?"

Once again, Kyohei's tone was of feigned surprise. Sunako looked at him from the corner of her eye and said, "Yeah. After that one time, when I saw captain again this morning on the way to school, she told me not to bother with swim team anymore. I mean, not that I wanted to anyway. I couldn't move properly because I was so absurdly sore. Say, did you get dumped from the boys swim team too?"

"I didn't feel like going back. They didn't put up a huge fight like they did the first time I went,"

"You didn't seem so tired the next day," Sunako said with a pout. "Stupid boy stamina,"

He smirked at her last comment and said, "I was tired, but I recover pretty quickly," He rolled his shoulder and she heard the sound pop of his joints and decided she liked how it sounded. "Good thing too, huh, or else I wouldn't have been able to haul you out of the tiger pit,"

"If I hadn't been so exhausted, I could have helped myself," Sunako replied mulishly.

"You're still sore about that? You don't have to be so tough and macho all the time. I helped you out when you were down for the count like," He scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Twice now. It happens to even the best of us," He puffed out his chest and jabbed his thumb at himself, as if referring to himself as the "best of us". Pfft. She wanted to smack him.

"Ow!" So she did.

"Only losers say stuff like that," She declared, retracting her pimp hand from his face.

"That's a shitty way of thinking," He frowned. "We all need help from time to time, you know. It makes us human. I know I'm not invincible. Pretty close to it, but not completely,"

"I like to do things on my own,"

"Have it your way. I ain't arguing with you. There's your knight in shiny ass armor," Kyohei lazily eyed Takenaga's waiting form in front of their homeroom classroom. "Enjoy,"

"I'll do my best to get all the information I can get off of him," Sunako promised and saluted Kyohei cheekily.

All she got was his retreating back and his waving hand as he slouched off with his hand in his pocket.

"Shall we?" Takenaga said as he approached her.

"Let's." Sunako agreed. She peered over his shoulder when she saw a flash of red. Sunako stared at Noi, who looked like she had been helping with sweeping the floor. Now, the girl was in her line of sight, her back turned so all Sunako could see was her auburn hair and her lovely backside (who had a butt like that? Seriously, she needed to know what a girl had to do to look like that!) Looking closely, the new girl's hands were tightly gripping the broom and were trembling slightly. Strange. Very strange. Hm.

Suddenly, there was another flash of red, before Noi's bright, smiling face appeared.

"Hi Sunako! May I call you Sunako?"

"N-"

"Great! Say, where are you going?" Her eyes gleamed, focused solely on Sunako. She was clearly not asking Takenaga. Sunako glanced at him to gauge his response, but he politely distanced himself from their conversation.

"To the market place," Time to test Noi's reaction. Sunako deliberately added, "With Takenaga,"

Noi's smile froze, her eyes stilled on Sunako. "What?"

Sunako looked back at Takenaga again, but he was still quiet and polite. No reaction, she noted with gritted teeth. That boy was as composed...as something composed! He was ticking her off so bad she couldn't think of something clever to compare him with and that made her mood sour even more. When she returned her attention to Noi, the other girl's smile had returned but her eyes remained wide and unsmiling.

"The market place?" She asked. "What for?"

"We have things to discuss," Sunako replied with intentional vagueness. "If you'll excuse us, Kasahara-san,"

"Oh. Of course. Have fun." Noi's voice thinned towards the end.

As she and Takenaga headed to the shoe lockers, Sunako could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth lift.

Sunako methodically removed her school slippers and reached for her locker. Takenaga stretched over her, his chest brushing her back and his hand grazing hers, as he got her street shoes and placed them before her on the floor for her.

"Thanks," Sunako said with a frown. She put her hands on her hips. "That was unnecessary, though, as I can reach just fine, thank you very much,"

"Of course, Sunako. Please pardon me," He didn't look very much like he was sorry. Sunako frowned some more at that smug, scheming look that appeared with some frequency on Takenaga's face.

Sunako frowned harder when she saw how the sky had gone from bright to gray. Dark and heavy clouds swarmed in the sky. A suffocating and humid wind stirred fallen blossoms and flung dust and pollen into her eyes. She blinked and swatted angrily. "Stupid wind," A drop of rain fell on her nose. She crossed her eyes to look at her nose. "Stupid rain,"

She went to take out her umbrella, wondering fleetingly if Kyohei had an umbrella. More than likely, he was probably running home with his school bag shielding his head, damning the weather the entire way home. Takenaga on the other hand had his umbrella open and was looking expectantly at her. Like he wanted to share his umbrella with her.

"My inner maiden protests that kind of arrangement," She said flatly.

"As a gentleman," Takenaga replied. "I must insist,"

Sunako belligerently went about opening up her own umbrella and ducked under it purposefully. Take _that_, Mr. Arrogant Everything-is-going-according-to-plan-I-would-cack le-like-a-mad-scientist-if-I-could-but-I-can't-bec ause-I'm-a-smug-little-dingbat! _Yes_, I have thwarted your strangely placed and unwanted incestuous advances. Sunako leered. What will you do now? _HM? _

She beamed at the slight frown on his face. "Let's be on our way, shall we?" She chirped.

Takenaga and Sunako began their walk to the market place when Sunako decided that now was a good time to ask, "Is Noi your ex-girlfriend?"

Takenaga choked.

"I'm sorry," He cleared his throat as he shot her an uncomfortable look. "I seemed to have forgotten that you prefer to ignore the invaluable social application of tact,"

"It's a yes or no question,"

"No, Kasahara-san," He said her last name emphatically. "Is not my ex-girlfriend,"

"Is she your girlfriend then? She was so jealous she turned Piccolo-green. Yoshi green. Green eggs - hold the ham, I'm a vegetarian - green. Green like -"

"Alright," Takenaga cleared his throat in discomfort. Good. _Good. _He deserved it for making her feel uncomfortable.

"Kasahara-san and I," The dark-haired boy lowered his voice. "have no relationship,"

"You're lying,"

He smiled.

"Don't smile. Give me an answer,"

"I believe I did,"

He was _infuriating._

"You are _infuriating_!" Sunako hissed and glared at him. She crossed her arms and angrily said , "But fine. I'll let go of that subject for now. Tell me more about my family,"

"Well," Takenaga began. "What do you know so far?"

"So far, you told me that we're family, except that my family name was changed eight years ago. Your mom and my aunt are sisters, but your mom doesn't like my aunt and called her a traitor. You also said some weird things about my parents, and that my father was the head of the Oda clan. Oh, and I'm part of a yakuza family,"

"Alright. Would you like me to start in at the beginning?"

"Yes, please,"

"This will begin like a history lesson, but please bear with me. When the Tokugawa era began to decline - due to higher taxes caused by the government's financial problems, natural disasters, and riots among farmers - the social hierarchy started to go down with it. Samurai, who used to be at the top of the social hierarchy, sought to be part of the merchant class as more and more samurai faced unemployment. There weren't enough jobs for all of the samurai, so some turned to other means,"

"They became criminals," Sunako nodded along, familiar with the story.

"And who do you think protected their families and their fellow citizens from these unemployed, former-samurai-turned-criminals?"

"The first yakuza,"

"Or so the story goes. Ordinary townsfolk who worked hard to protect and defend the people. The Odas and the Moris are amongst the oldest yakuza clans. We were arranged based on bloodline. To this day, the Odas and the Moris are still mostly blood-related family, but those who are worthy have and can be initiated in,"

"Alright, so what's your point? I hope we didn't come out here just for this,"

Takenaga shook his head disapprovingly at her impatience. "The Odas and the Moris are based in close proximity. Our territories have time and time again been trespassed on. This is one of the reasons why the past heads of the clans have butted heads,"

"If there were so many issues with territory, why didn't one family just move?"

"It's power play, Sunako-san. It would be the same as admitting defeat to move away. It would make that family look weak,"

"Right,"

"It could be that the original heads simply did not like each other. It happens sometimes that there are some people that we cannot get along with, no matter how long you've known them or what they have and have not done to you,"

"I guess so,"

"Not only that, but the Mori clan has questionable ways of cultivating their wealth. Would you like to take a gander at that?"

Sunako looked uneasily at him. She knew he was about to tell her something unpleasant again.

"Sex trafficking. Taking a woman who couldn't hold up her end of a bargain, or taking a woman as compensation for someone else who couldn't pay them back. Taking troubled young girls and promising them jobs and help, only to sell them off to become prostitutes. Forcing them to live for the pleasure of others. It is disgusting and it is a practice that the Moris have perpetuated, it seems,"

"They still do that? Even now?" Sunako asked, aghast, her face contorting in horror.

Takenaga nodded solemnly. "Indeed. The Odas do not take part in such and look down upon those who do,"

"That's horrible," She could not begin to imagine how many women fell prey to this. How badly each woman suffered because someone's greed. The horrors they faced and dealt with every single day. Her stomach churned at the though. "How can someone do that to another person?"

"You can see why we have such strained relations with the Mori clan," Takenaga looked up as they entered the market place. "Ah. We've arrived,"

Sunako looked around, her unease only rising when she did a scan of the familiar market place. She narrowed her eyes. "Something looks off here,"

"So you noticed," Takenaga gestured to the empty lot that was once where Sunako's favorite...

"Vegetable vendor! He-He's not here! It's all - all gone," Sunako's eyes blazed and her fists trembled. "What the hell happened to him?"

Sunako's eyes burned with hot tears. The man who sold vegetables here was a kind, old man. He spoke of his daughter, who had recently had twins, of his little rascal of a son, and of his wife, who came by every afternoon to bring him lunch and to scold him for being a forgetful idiot.

When Sunako first started shopping, she was bewildered by what to buy and how to tell how good the products were. The following week, when Sunako had uncertainly bought a bunch of ginger, he had slipped a note on how to check how fresh a vegetable was, and how long it would last at home. The next time she went shopping, she thanked him profusely.

Following those events, the vegetable vendor became the highlight of her shopping trip. His wife brought freshly baked _taiyaki _to share with Sunako when she came by with his lunch, his son made a habit of flipping her skirt, and his daughter's twins enjoyed peek-a-boo with Sunako, who hid behind hair.

"Extortion. The Moris threatened Mr. Takahashi, but when he refused to give them a share of his profit, they forced him out of business. Don't be surprised to find a Mori selling vegetables from here on out,"

Sunako was livid. Her breath was choked and she was biting the inside of her cheek so hard she drew blood.

"It's understandable then, that the Oda clan does not get along well with the Mori clan, isn't it?" Takenaga led them down the market place, guiding Sunako out of puddles that she couldn't see through the tears flooding her vision. "It's upsetting, isn't it? It's unbelievable what the Moris are capable of doing to indulge their greed. It's simply disgusting,"

Sunako couldn't agree more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** **A whopping 15 pages whoa~ I'm sorry I'm so lazy about updating :( I have all my ideas and my plot down. It's the writing, editing, and uploading bit that's slow. **

***The uncute bit - I totes referenced Ranma 1/2 with that. I don't own Ranma 1/2, by the way. Do I need a disclaimer for that? I dunno. I'll put it anyway. **

***Taiyaki is a fish-shaped sweet treat made with what is essentially waffle batter. It is stuffed, usually with sweet red bean paste. **


	12. Market Place

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wallflower.

Sunako caught a rapid movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Sunako-san!" was her only warning as a fist aimed for her stomach. Instinctively, her body swerved out the way, while her mind raced to make sense of the sudden turn of events.

Red. The man cried out as he sought to strike her with another fist. She blocked it with her open umbrella, then closed it to jab him hard in the throat with the tip. He choked and grabbed his neck in pain. Sunako brought the umbrella down on his head with strength that broke the umbrella and knocked the man out.

Red. Two giant men, heaving with muscle, came at her. Sunako tightened her core muscles, her hands fisting and her lips curling. It had been some time since she'd had a good fight.

She ran at them and smashed her fists into their noses, making them simultaneously shout in pain and become dazed. She took the opportunity to kick the backs of their knees and send them to the wet ground.

"Hey!" Three more goons barrelled towards her.

Sunako stifled the fear that shot down her spine. Her pulse roared in her ears as her blood rushed through her veins and as her heart rate soared. She realized the rain was falling down on her only when it intensified and came down like bullets. Sunako brushed her wet bangs out of her eyes and took a slow breath as they neared.

She lept up when one tried to grab her from behind. She flew back down and aimed a strong kick to the throat. When she landed on the ground, Sunako blocked a flying fist and a hand that grabbed for her long hair. She lept backwards and grunted as she put some space between herself and the two goons.

They advanced once more. One of them grinned and said, "The little girl can put up a fight,"

Sunako scoffed in return. Just because she was a girl...

...they stupidly underestimated her advantages as a female fighter. Like her agility and the element of surprise.

Sunako grinned with a wild gleam in her violet eyes. "You ladies have no idea."

She disappeared from their sight and reappeared behind them and knocked their thick skulls together. They cried out in pain and fell into the rain puddles.

Sunako exhaled slowly to calm herself and her ragged breathing. She reveled in the adrenaline rushing through her body and tilted her head up to feel the pelting rain on her perspired face.

Behind her, many startled shoppers and vendors cried out and scattered as quickly as they could at the disturbing scene of six unconscious grown men and a teenage girl standing triumphantly before them.

Takenaga watched from the shadows and smiled.

:;:;:;:;:;:;

"You know, I thought that you being a yakuza and all, that you'd help me out," Sunako said pointedly to Takenaga.

"I apologize for not assisting you, but it seemed that you would find my help unnecessary, as you took care of them just fine by yourself. It looked like you were enjoying it,"

"You got an answer for everything," Sunako griped.

He looked at her in amusement when she sighed loudly.

They were walking back to Sunako's house. The rain had finally eased up and the clouds had parted for them to see the sunset turning the sky red.

"How are you feeling?" Takenaga asked.

"Cold. My knuckles hurt and I'm tired," Sunako replied bluntly. "But what I want to know is why in the name of Buddha's teeth I was attacked and who the heck do they think they are to do that to me. This isn't the first time this month that I've been hurt and I have a funny feeling that you know something,"

"They were Mori goons," Sunako raised her brows at Takenaga's straight answer (for once!).

"Why did they attack me? I know that the Oda's don't like the Mori's, but why specifically me and why now?"

"Logically, it would seem that you've angered a Mori," Takenaga added mysteriously. "They are closer to you than you think,"

Sunako digested the hint slowly, but then she understood.

"Do all Mori's have red hair?"

"The Mori head's family are naturally red-haired, though many in lower positions in the clan dye their hair red to express their pride as a part of the Mori family," Takenaga's expression plainly said that he thought it was a stupid tradition.

"Then," Sunako began, her finger on her chin in thought. "Is Noi Kasahara a high-position Mori? Her hair color looks natural to me,"

"She is a distant family member of the head," Takenaga confirmed, looking surprised at her sharpness.

"Is she jealous that we went out together? Is that why she sicced Mori goons on me?"

"Most likely,"

"And that day," Sunako continued excitedly at the puzzle that was coming together in her head. "When you took me to the restaurant. She was the one who stalked us! Earlier today, she was holding a folder that had the same logo on the all girls' school students' uniforms. You said that school was nearby the restaurant,"

Takenaga looked unnerved and tried to hide it, but Sunako caught it on his face. "You are quite perceptive,"

"Is that another trait that the Oda's pride themselves in?" She said mockingly.

She _knew_ there was something off about Takenaga. He had taken her where she could plainly be seen by Noi. Was he trying to provoke Noi? Why was he trying to make Noi jealous? It looked like Noi liked Takenaga, but it seemed like Takenaga disliked Noi. She was a Mori – granted, he probably wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having a Mori admirer. Was this a one-sided Romeo and Juliet situation? In which Romeo disliked Juliet? Why was he trying to make Juliet jealous if it didn't seem like he liked her? Why was he using Sunako to get her jealous?

She then thought of the person Kyohei saw each time something dangerous happened to Sunako. This red-headed person of power...

"Say," Sunako looked at an equally quiet and contemplative Takenaga. "Does this Mori leader have a son? A teenaged son?"

Takenaga nodded uncertainly. "Yes. Ranmaru Mori,"

So she had finally had a name for the face that she was going to pound in. Ranmaru Mori, huh...another Mori out for her blood. With Noi Kasahara, at least she knew her motives. What were Ranmaru Mori's motives?

Sunako opened the gate to her home, absentmindedly responding to Takenaga wishing her a good night.

The front door was open.

Sunako's body tightened in apprehension. "A burglar?" She whispered, toeing the door wider as she peering in.

In the dark, a figure slumped in the velvet futon in the living room.

"Auntie?" Sunako blinked in surprise. She quickly locked the door, removed her shoes, and went to her aunt.

She could smell the alcohol on her from three feet away. Sunako kneeled and took Auntie's hand. "Auntie?"

"'nako?" She opened her eyes slowly, in a daze.

"Should I get some coffee?"

"Sunako," Auntie reached for her with her other hand. "Auntie...e's sorry,"

"It's fine," Sunako said quickly and began to rise.

"No! Don't," She groaned, her forehead scrunching. She tightened her grip on Sunako's hand and pleaded, purple eyes watery and sad. "Stay,"

Sunako sighed and kneeled once more. She was tired and her muscles were getting sore and she was cold. All she wanted to do was to have a nice hot bath and ice for her bruised knuckles and her comfy bed. She was not in the mood to babysit her aunt.

"What is it?" She asked impatiently when Auntie just stared at her without speaking.

"Tomorrow," She slurred. Her eyes burned with emotions. "'at's his...his..." Auntie blinked and squinted and then shouted unhappily at Sunako. "Stop moving! How 'm 'pose to talk if you won' stop moving - all three of ya!"

"Sorry," Sunako gritted out. "Continue,"

"'nyway, tomorrow's his...wha's the word? The day he died – tha's tomorrow,"

"A death anniversary?" Sunako suggested with a puzzled quirk of a brow.

"Yeah, tha's the one! My honey-bunny's death ann'versary," Auntie became sad and teary again. "Thought I could find another honey-bunny by tomorrow, but I couldn't 'cause I'm too pretty," She explained sadly. "Is why I've been away,"

"That's right," Sunako remembered that every year, around spring time, Auntie was never in Japan. She wasn't around much, period, but especially so in the spring.

"My Tomokazu," Auntie sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "My Tomokazu can't be replaced. But I try,"

Sunako looked at the pitiful sight and her heart clenched. "Auntie," She called softly. "Auntie, do you want to visit his grave tomorrow?"

"'s grave?" Auntie's eyes widened and she trembled. "No, no, not 'is grave! I don' wanna see it!"

"Don't you want to see him again?" She softened her voice the way she did when Gin was upset – which was often. "Uncle will be sad if you don't go to him. He's lonely, but he'll be so happy to see you," At Auntie's troubled and doubtful expression, she continued. "We'll get him lots of pretty flowers, wash his grave, and light incense – wouldn't you like that? You'll make him so happy,"

"Tomo will be happy to see me?" Auntie asked quietly.

"Of course. He loved you, didn't he?"

"He was unhappy when he died," Auntie mumbled, ignoring Sunako.

"Auntie,"

"I want to see him and do all those things. But I'm scared. What if he hates me?"

Sunako's practical side thought that a dead person couldn't still hate a living person, but her nurturing mode was on, so instead, she reasssured her aunt. "He doesn't hate you. He was your husband,"

Sunako didn't know how their relationship was, but she was making it up as she went.

_Though I wonder why Auntie would think he hated her. _

When she thought about it, Sunako didn't know how he had died. _"He was unhappy when he died." _

"Sure?" Auntie looked to her with a quivering lip.

"Yes, absolutely. He wants to see you. I'll go with Auntie, so don't be scared, okay?"

Sunako stood. "I'll make you some hangover remedy, and then you'll go to bed, okay?"

Auntie nodded obediently.

Sunako dragged her tired body to the kitchen and got to work.

When she finally got to bed, still warm from her bath and with ice packs on her knuckles, she went out like a light.

:;:;:;:;:;:;:;

"Stupid fucking rain finally stopped," Kyohei observed, still unhappily remembering running to his father's office with his school bag shielding his head from the rain.

"Watch your mouth boy," Tetsuya Takano reflexively reprimanded his potty-mouthed son. He didn't look up as he kept flipping through his old files and recent newspaper articles.

"Tch," Kyohei dropped his jaw into his hand, propped up on his elbows. "You're not even supposed to be here yet. Did the hospital even discharge you?"

"I discharged myself," Tetsuya said sassily.

"Damn old man," Kyohei growled at the pile of papers in front of him. He looked down in defeat at the two thirds left for him to sift through for new and relevant information. "You expect me to go through all this shit?"

"You _will _go through all of it – thoroughly. I've missed too much while I've been inactive. There is much catching up to do. As my son, you must help your father,"

"I've been helping! Who do you think kept your office this clean? Not the fucking dust bunnies or, God forbid, Mom!"

His mood fouled further as he recalled all of those afternoons after school he spent kicking dust bunnies and organizing the thousands of papers in his father's private office. When he came home, his mother was always dramatically dysfunctional. She never did any cooking and cleaning and used her mourning as an excuse to stop working and watch TV all day. His dad had been in a coma – with a high chance of waking up eventually. He hadn't been dead. Kyohei understood – or at least he tried to understand that it was difficult for his mother. Hell, it sucked for him to not have his dad around, but he still gritted his teeth and bore it.

The one who took all those part time jobs to support them, the one who cooked and cleaned and took care of the bills, the one who had no friends because he was a shitty student who was too tired to socialize and too busy working to hang out after school, and the one whose only real human contact was fighting punks who crossed him when he came home at night – that was all him. Who the fuck could be a good and social fucking student when he had to work til midnight every fucking night?

His father gave him a pointed look. "Get back to work,"

Kyohei stretched his back and yawned, ignoring his father.

Tetsuya frowned. "Reports on Sunako?"

"She knows now that she is part of the Oda family," Kyohei stretched his arms up and rolled his stiff neck. "I'll ask her tomorrow for more info,"

At his father's questioning look, Kyohei explained. "Takenaga is talking to her about all this. They went to the market place in Mori territory,"

"You make sure to talk to her," Tetsuya's glasses glinted under the overbearing florescent light. You know how important this case is to me. I am certain that whoever killed Kou Oda felt threatened by my investigation. That's why this person tried to force me to butt out of the investigation – that accident was no accident," Tetsuya laughed. "But they should know by now that I'm a stubborn old boy. I won't give up until I know who did this to me and Sunako Nakahara,"

"Yeah," Kyohei's anger subdued at her mention. "Don't worry, old man."

**A/N: Shorter than the less chapter, but hey, it's up quicker! Next time, on HFBSN (yes, I have gotten pretentious and lazy enough to call the story HFBSN and expect you all to know what it stands for) – Sunako and Auntie visit Auntie's husband's grave and meet some unexpected people there. Then...slumber party! YAY! Naughty twins and more revelations and some romancin'! See you next time :)**


	13. Tomokazu

A cool breeze woke Sunako that morning. She poked the blanket at her feet with her toes and tried to drag it up to her cold body with little success.

"If only I had monkey feet." Sunako lamented sleepily and gave up trying to grab her blanket with her feet.

Light came dimly through the rain clouds and cast her room in gray. Ah. Her kind of day. If only she could spend it inside playing the horror game she had downloaded some time ago. "I haven't been able to play it yet," She grumbled absently, rubbed her cheek on her pillow and whined a little as she remembered the day's agenda. "Buddha give me strength to deal with Auntie today."

Sunako loved her auntie, but if that woman wasn't difficult, then Sunako really was a Capuchin monkey.  
>The dark-haired girl rolled on to her other side, savoring the warmth of her own body heat on her bed. She peered at her ghoulish alarm clock. 8:16 am.<br>"Ah, fine," Sunako sat up and pushed her bangs out of her eyes and her braid over her shoulder. "Bed," She declared. "I should like to see you tonight. I've been sleeping in hospital beds more often than I'd like."  
>Sunako made quick work of her morning rituals. As soon as she was done plating breakfast and pouring Auntie's cup of fancy Blue Mountain coffee, she went up the stairs to her aunt's room. She opened the door, knowing that when Auntie slept, she slept like the dead with no intention of rising again as a zombie, so knocking had never been much of an option. Sunako entered as quietly as she could.<br>Auntie was sitting at the foot of her bed with her head hanging down, chin to chest.

Sunako watched her. Odd, she thought. She reviewed her mental catalog of hungover-Auntie behaviors. What was she doing? Sunako approached warily. "Auntie? Are you awake?"

Auntie turned slowly, her head lifting slightly. Even to Sunako, her aunt looked down right eerie, especially with the gray light casting shadows on her face.

"No," She said quietly.

Her dull eyes suddenly flared as Auntie shot up and stood in front of Sunako in a flurry of pink silk. Her eyes flashed over Sunako's face and her mouth twisted into a frown. "I'm not going to see him!"

Sunako's confusion turned into blazing righteousness. She stood with legs shoulder-length apart and crossed her arms over her chest. "You agreed that you were going, so we are!"

"No," Auntie shook her head jerkily and roughly tugged her brown curls behind her ears. Auntie looked at Sunako with wide, wild violet eyes. "You can't make me do anything. Don't forget who the adult is here!"

A dark look flashed over Sunako's face. "Well it's damn easy to forget who the adult is!"

"Don't you swear at me, Sunako Nakahara," she warned, eyes narrow.

Sunako inhaled deeply, trying to force the red from her vision. "I apologize," She said through gritted teeth. "but listen to me, please. Going to visit might give you the closure you need. Auntie, it isn't normal to never be in a stable environment. What you do - it isn't normal,"

Sunako grabbed her aunt's hand out of her hair and held it firmly in hers. "Having all of these flings with all of these men, never staying home for more than a week - Auntie, look at me," Sunako tugged on Auntie's hand to get her attention. The older woman kept her eyes away. "You need to go so that you can feel better. This is all to help you," Sunako looked for Auntie's compliance, but was met with the same crazed, stubborn look.

"Who says I need help? Did you decide that yourself, Sunako? What if I don't want to change? What if this is the life I want?"

"Is it?" Sunako asked.

Auntie averted her eyes.

"I don't think you ever learned how to cope with your husband's death in a healthy way and now you're stuck and familiar with this unhealthy way of living. I get that living this way is a habit, but it's a bad one, and it needs to change," Sunako finished, trying to sound firm.

"Stop it!" Auntie tore her hand away from Sunako's and stepped back. "Stop speaking to me like...like I'm a child!"

"I'll stop treating you like a child once you stop acting like one," Sunako stepped forward challengingly.

Auntie's eyes turned to slits as she glared at her niece. "Sunako-"

"Auntie, why won't you understand that I'm doing this because I _love_ you and I don't want to see you alone and floundering around anymore. If not for me - please, just do it for yourself,"

"You tricked me," she seethed. "I - last night I was drunk and you made me agree to something I didn't really want!"

"Last night you said you wanted to see him," Sunako bit the inside of her mouth and asked gently. "Why do you deny it? What are you so afraid of?"

Auntie was silent. Then she said,

"Check,"

Sunako blinked. "Check? Check what?"

Auntie averted her eyes and tugged somewhat more gently at her hair. "Check if there's going to be a memorial service or something at his grave,"

"Why?" Again, Sunako tried to look at Auntie's face, as if all the answers to her questions were written there. "Why would there be?"

"My Tomokazu was a great man who touched the lives of many," Auntie cried, her eyes gleaming brightly as she looked beyond Sunako. "Of course there will be people going to visit him on his death anniversary," Auntie's eyes lost their light and she wrinkled her forehead. "Lots of people,"

"Auntie," Sunako said exasperatedly. "I don't understand,"

"But a lot of those people don't like me," Auntie said softly, still not meeting Sunako's eyes.

A thought came to Sunako's mind. _Traitor_, Naomi Oda had said with hostility that had shocked Sunako.  
><em>Why does it feel like this is connected? Why am I thinking about them anyway? Total leap in logic...I'd bet there would be a lot of people who don't like Auntie. Naomi Oda was just the most recent one. That must be why she came to mind first.<em>

Sunako looked at her aunt, watched her thin fingers tremble as she pulled them through her curls, watched her close her eyes and purse her lips tightly.

"I'll call the cemetery and ask," Sunako said with an air of finality.

Auntie showed no sign that she had heard Sunako. She sat there on her armchair in her silk bathrobe, her hands trembling in her lap.

Sunako closed the door behind her and went to the foyer to call the owner of the private graveyard.

"Memorial service?" The old woman repeated in soft voice. "Yes, for Tomokazu Mori, this afternoon,"

Tomokazu Mori. _Tomokazu Mori._

"I didn't even know his last name," Sunako said quietly to herself as she hung up the phone. "He was a Mori and Auntie was an Oda," She thumped her fist onto her palm, her eyes bright as she exclaimed, "That must be why Naomi Oda called Auntie a traitor then. An Oda marrying a Mori," Sunako paused thoughtfully, with a finger tapping her chin. "Or maybe he belongs to another Mori family. But it seems like too much of a coincidence," Sunako chewed her lip. "But it's all I've got so far._"_

"Sunako?" Auntie peered into the foyer. "Did you call?"

"Yes, and there is a memorial service but it is in the afternoon, so it's fine!"

Auntie was quiet as the tension left her face. "If that's the case, then I want to go now."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Sunako smiled a small smile. "Breakfast is on the table. I'll go get ready."

Sunako patted the skirt of her black, white-collared dress as she and Auntie approached the graveyard. It was a private affair for wealthy folk who wanted a more safely guarded resting place for their loved ones.

Auntie was cradling a large bouquet of flowers. She was dressed in a conservative dress and donned a wide-brimmed black hat.

When they arrived at the Mori family grave, Sunako's breath caught in her throat. The number of urns in the grave - the number of dead members of the Mori family - was astounding. The idea that Tomokazu Mori did once belong to the yakuza became more realistic to Sunako now. Sunako bit her lip and glanced at Auntie, who was fixated on the bouquet of fresh roses laid on Tomokazu Mori's grave. A hand squeezed her forearm.

"Auntie? What's wrong?" She asked. Her aunt had gone deathly pale, eyes still fixed on the flowers. Auntie shook her head, her eyes getting that wild, far-away quality to them. "Could it be that," She said, her voice rasping and wavering. "That Nee-chan visited his grave before I did?"

"Nee-chan?" Sunako's mind flashed back to the photograph Takenaga had shown her of her mother, her aunt, and of Naomi Oda. Takenaga had said that Naomi was Auntie's older sister. Then why would Naomi _Oda – _Tomokazu Mori's sister-in-law - visit his grave?

Auntie dropped to her knees.

"Auntie! Geez, woman," Sunako grumbled and sat besides the older woman to hold her shoulders. "You scared me, falling like that all of sudden,"

"Look," She pointed to the vertical writing on her husband's tombstone with a shaking finger. "Look at my name. It's not red*,"

Sunako looked at Auntie's name on the tombstone and stilled. "Did someone wash off the ink on purpose?" Sunako looked at Auntie quizzically. "You're still alive, though,"

Auntie gave an empty laugh and slumped her shoulders. "It was most likely done on purpose. His family and my family never got along. To them, I was never truly his wife. To my family...I suppose most of them consider me to be dead to them,"

_This is one too many coincidences for this to be a coincidence. _"Auntie," Sunako grabbed her aunt's hand, looked her in the eye, and bluntly asked, "Did you marry a Mori?"

Auntie stiffened and turned her head to stare wide-eyed at her niece's question. "P-Pardon?"

"You, an Oda," Sunako pointed at the name on the tombstone that had the name "Oda Mine" carved into it. "Married a Mori,"

"Sunako," She said uneasily. "How do you -"

"I found out about our family. The Oda clan," Sunako said, sliding her finger down the tombstone. She turned to look at Auntie. "So it's true, then? We are part of a Yakuza family and they hate you because you married someone from a rival clan? How very Romeo and Juliet. I expect nothing less from you, Auntie,"

Auntie smiled sadly. "Thank you, I suppose," Her mouth turned into a hard line as she fixed a stern look at Sunako. "I still want to know who told all of this to you,"

"Takenaga Oda,"

She frowned deeply. "I don't think I like having you consorting with Takenaga,"

Sunako wanted to roll her eyes.

"I mean it," Auntie said at Sunako's silence. "I don't want him filling your head with nonsense. I want you to have a normal life. A normal schoolgirl's life,"

"Alright," Sunako said, just to appease her aunt. Her aunt's warning went straight over her head.

Auntie frowned at her some more. Then she sighed quietly, placed her own bouquet down gently, and clapped her hands together in prayer. Sunako followed suit. She gave a short but sweet prayer, wishing Tomokazu Mori a happy afterlife. _And it's thanks to you that I dug up some new information on this whole mess. So thank you and Buddha bless. _

Auntie was still deep in prayer, her eyes clenched tight and her eyelids trembling as she prayed. Sunako stood up to give Auntie some privacy as she walked a little ways to think things out.

"Auntie must have been scared that the Mori family would be there. The memorial service is for them, anyway," Sunako muttered to herself as she bent down to pull on a weed. "That's probably why she stayed away from visiting all this time. I know all that now,"

Sunako stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Then it could be that she was disowned from the Oda family. But one thing is bothering me, though," She walked a pace to a rose bush and touched a thorn with her finger. "Say Auntie was disowned, then. That could explain her taking another family name. But if it was Auntie who was disowned, then why did _my _family name change as well? Auntie is my guardian while my parents are," Sunako faltered at this. "Are in Africa,"

"_My condolences. Your father was a good man and your mother did not deserve what happened."_

A chill shot down her spine. She remembered what Takenaga had said to her the first time they'd met. Could her parents truly be dead? Had she blindly and unquestioningly believed that her parents' absence was because they were in another country?

Her heart began hammering rapidly in her chest and her breath came up short and quick. She pressed her hand to her mouth and exhaled. Sunako looked back at Auntie, who was speaking to her husband's tombstone. Her heart hardened at the thought that her aunt had _lied _about her parents. Sunako shook her head. No, there was no reason to get mad on a conjecture. She had yet to see proof that her parents were no longer alive, but she also had no solid proof that her parents were alive. She only had her aunt's word. Something she no longer put much faith in.

Sunako stood back up and went back to Auntie.

"Oh, Sunako. I was just finishing up cleaning," Auntie lifted the wooden ladle in her hand and placed it back into the bucket.

Sunako eyed the tombstone. "You missed a spot," She stood and went to find red ink. She returned and with a brush, painted in Auntie's name.

"Sunako -" Auntie began nervously.

"You are his living wife," Sunako declared. "Mori or Oda, you deserve at least this much,"

Auntie looked like she was about to cry so Sunako handed over her handkerchief and lifted Auntie back to standing position.

"I'm happy that you did this," Sunako said with a gentle hand on Auntie's shoulder. "Now let's go home."

After a quiet lunch with Auntie, Sunako went upstairs to her room.

She was restless, her mind humming with information and questions. Sunako searched her desk for the notes she had written down the day after her first outing with Takenaga.

She found a pen and tapped it against her chin. The more she stared at the list, the more frustrated she became. There weren't any new puzzle piece that she could combine with these old pieces. To her, it felt like there were just more and more puzzle pieces that didn't fit together.

Sunako wrote down the new pieces of information:

_**Update**__on Takenaga Oda: appears that he is trying to provoke Noi Kasahara and by extension, the Mori family, by using me to make her jealous. _

The teenager tapped her chin and added,

_A sinister character indeed. _

_Ranmaru Mori: trying to kill me, Sunako Nakahara/Oda. The question still remains: why? _

_Noi Kasahara: doesn't like seeing me with Takenaga. Evident by her sending goons after me. Also a Mori. Maybe...Ranmaru is just helping her? But the blood thinner incident happened before I even met Takenaga. Needs further investigation. _

**_Update _**_on Auntie's involvement: it appears that Auntie married a Mori and therefore is no longer welcome in the Oda family. Explains why Naomi Oda is angry at Auntie, but raises the question as to why Naomi Oda left flowers for Auntie's Mori husband. Did Auntie mean Naomi Oda by "Nee-chan" or did she mean somebody else?_

Sunako sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. "That's what I have so far."

She glanced up at her computer. Putting her pen down, Sunako turned the desktop on and clicked open the internet browser. She had her first-hand sources on the table; now she'd look for sources on the internet.

Sunako typed into her search engine her father's name. _Ken Oda. _

The results showed the scholarly articles and essays he had written. Political science, Auntie had told her once, was her father's major in college. Sunako felt the pride swell in her at her father's work.

However, one thing struck her: there was no mention of her father past 2004. Her father had been a prolific author, with works spanning from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. His last publication had been in 2004. Sunako's forehead wrinkled and she leaned back in her chair. In 2004, she had been 8 years-old.

_Eight years ago. Eight years old. Eight years. _

"Eight is becoming a bad number for me," She hissed. Sunako rubbed her violet eyes and pushed her bangs back. "The fact that my dad stopped publishing isn't much evidence of anything, is it? He's been gone for 8 years. He's been gone for eight years, gathering research in Africa. It's been this long, yet he hasn't published anything," Sunako leaned forward and held herself around the waist. "Does that really mean something?"

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the evidence that her father did exist. She could not remember her father. She didn't know his face in her memory and she didn't know him. She didn't know what foods he liked or what his hobbies were. She didn't remember her mother either and no searching brought results of the woman named Kou Oda, the woman who was her mother.

Sunako didn't want to look anymore. She massaged her temples, thinking, _Enough. This is enough. I don't want to know anymore. Everything I find makes it seem like my parents...like my parents are gone. _Yet her curiosity pushed her fingers back to the keyboard and she searched for one more name.

_Mine Oda. _

"Oh?" Sunako's eyes found an interesting titled link to an old gossip website.

_**Mine Oda's elopes with Yakuza boss Tomokazu Mori: Evidence of a Shotgun Wedding. **_

_17 September 1996 _

_Socialite Mine Oda (24) was rumored to be sporting a baby bump. Her recent elopement with Tomokazu Mori (27) has been considered proof of a shotgun wedding. Their romance began in the springtime and the couple has since been spotted together on many occasions. Oda has been in Europe as an exchange student since the age of sixteen and remained in England after finishing high school. She returned to Japan only last year. Mori was released from prison last year and is currently serving parole. In any case, congratulations to the new couple and to the possibility of a growing family! _

Sunako reread the column, her pulse pounding at her neck. Shotgun wedding? Had Auntie been _pregnant_? Tomokazu-san had been in _prison_? She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. This was gossip, but where there was smoke, there was a fire, so they say.

Sunako studied the poor-quality picture underneath the article. There was Auntie, looking youthful and beautiful with her curls flowing past her waist and her eyes bright and crinkled adorably at the corners as she smiled. Then, there was Tomokazu Mori. His hair was red – Mori red - and despite it being neatly styled, a few strands fell over his own smiling eyes. They were holding hands and walking.

Sunako immediately sought out Auntie's stomach, which was covered by a pretty white lace dress. Sunako bit down hard on her lip. Her aunt's usually flat stomach was round. The balmy spring breeze pushed the fabric of her dress against her, making the bump even more prominent. Sunako inhaled sharply. Were her eyes deceiving her? Was it just a bad picture? She quickly punched in "Mine Oda pregnant".

_Growing Oda clan? Oda Princess pregnant. _

_Romeo, Juliet, and baby? Tomokazu Mori and Mine Oda..._

_…__.Mine Oda appears to be expecting. Her appearance at the annual fundraiser in...suggests that the young social butterfly may be settling down to live as a parent. _

There were not many pictures, but the ones that were there seemed convincing. But it could just be the lighting or a fake picture; a photo on the internet wasn't completely reliable. For that matter, the internet and gossip websites weren't reliable either.

Sunako bit her lip again. She wanted to ask Auntie, but her aunt was in a delicate state now. The day of her husband's death anniversary was not the day to ask if her aunt had once been expecting to be a mother.

Sunako sighed and looked away from the screen. She rubbed her eyes and then her temples as she looked over her paper.

Auntie had eloped. It hadn't been the extravagant and expensive wedding Sunako had thought it would have been. They had eloped because neither family approved of their marriage and maybe even because the couple was pregnant. If there had been a baby, what had happened to it? Dark thoughts crossed her mind. A baby unwanted by two yakuza clans...the thought of what could have happened made her feel sick. Another thought that if something bad had happened to the baby, then Auntie might be mourning for her child and her husband. The bottles lining Auntie's bathroom cabinet flashed through Sunako's mind. She shuddered.

Sunako leaned back in her chair and rubbed her tired eyes with her palms. She wanted to know more about the Mori's and the Oda's. She wanted to know why Ranmaru Mori was trying to kill her. She wanted to know where her parents really were. She wanted to know about eight years ago - whatever that was. Her head was starting to hurt, so she turned off her computer and lied down on her bed, with her face buried in her pillow.

Now she had even _more _puzzle pieces to deal with.

"I think I'll sleep on this." Sunako said to her pillow and pulled her blanket back up to her face.

Sunako woke up disoriented the next day. To her surprise, the sun was up and the birds were being especially chatty and obnoxious. She couldn't believe she had slept through from yesterday afternoon to... "12 PM?" She grabbed her clock from the nightstand and gaped at it. "It's already noon! What the -? I never sleep this much," Sunako scratched her head blearily.

When Sunako went to check on Auntie, she found her aunt in the same state, sleeping the day away. Sunako was momentarily panicked when she saw a pill bottle on the nightstand, but found Auntie's pulse easily and the bottle still full.

"Yesterday was tough for you," Sunako said with a sigh. "I'm sorry for being pushy."

Auntie didn't stir, so Sunako, feeling a bit silly for talking to herself, decided to leave her be. On her way to the bathroom, she saw the calendar and realized that it was Wednesday. "Oh man, I missed two days of school without even realizing it," Sunako yawned and stretched her arms, "I guess I must have been really tired."

Sunako changed into a comfortable blue dress and headed to the kitchen to make a nice breakfast for Auntie. Her aunt liked heavy western breakfast, so Sunako tied on her apron and got busy. She made miso soup and grilled fish like she did every morning as well, because Japanese food was where Sunako's heart was at.

By the time Auntie's coffee was done brewing and Sunako's green tea was cooling in her hands, Auntie made her way down the stairs.

"Ah, did you wake up just now as well?" Auntie asked with a sleepy smile.

"Un. Sit down and eat,"

Auntie eyed the french toast doused in imported maple syrup and topped with hand-whipped heavy cream and fruit slices, along with the cheese-filled omelets and grinned. She patted her niece lightly on the head and said, "Thank you for the food."

There was a strange silence as the two ate. Sunako wanted to ask about what she had read last night – or rather, yesterday afternoon – about the baby rumor.

Auntie looked a bit unfamiliar without her make-up or her hair done. She was eating well, something Sunako couldn't recall in her memory. Usually Auntie only had a couple of bites of food before she decided that she wanted to talk more than eat or she skipped altogether, save for some coffee. Today, she was quiet and was busy using her mouth to eat diligently.

Sunako was not the queen of tact, but she still knew that there were some topics she had to tread carefully around. Asking so suddenly about a baby rumor – Auntie would get angry at her for digging around for dirt on her by her own niece, no doubt. Still...she wanted to ask. Sunako cleared her throat and made her attempt at being tactful.

"About Tomokazu-san," She said, try not to sound as nervous as she was. Auntie's head went up and she stared right at Sunako. "I mean, I didn't know that much about him at all. I mean, that's what I realized when we went yesterday,"

Auntie's face softened. "You don't have to be so nervous when speaking about your own uncle, Sunako,"

"So it's okay to ask about you two?" Sunako put down her tea cup, eyes lowered.

Auntie gave a small nod.

"Alright," _She seems so relaxed today. I guess it would be okay to ask then._ "Um...did you guys think about having children?"

Sunako was expecting an strong, emotional response but instead, Auntie calmly replied, "We did. Tomokazu loved children. I was still young when we married, but even I loved the idea of spoiling a baby of my own," She set down her coffee mug. "But that didn't happen, unfortunately,"

Sunako swallowed. Was there any graceful way to ask if her Aunt had been pregnant once? Her palms were sweating and she was losing her nerve. All she ended up saying was, "Oh. I'm sorry,"

Sunako sipped her tea to avoid eye contact, deciding that sometimes in life, she had to give up.

"Sunako-san hasn't been to school lately," Takenaga observed, sweeping under the chalkboard.

Noi was in the middle of reprimanding some boys who were playing baseball with their brooms with a balled-up piece of paper. She was just about to give Takano-san a good scolding for taking a nap while they were all on cleaning duty when Takenaga spoke. She turned at his voice, her expression as easy to read as always. He watched with some sadistic amusement as she forced a smile on her face. "That's right. I hope she isn't sick or something,"

"Well then, I might as well go visit her just to make sure she's feeling well," He said, attention on collecting the chalk dust on the floor.

"Oh, then I'll go with you!" Noi said quickly, hands fluttering. Ah, _this _was the rosy-colored school life she had imagined when she decided to transfer. Going to sick classmates' houses together to deliver homework, watching over Takenaga to protect him from hussies like Sunako Nakahara – ah, Noi would have happily stayed in her private academy if only Sunako Nakahara hadn't showed the audacity to go after _her _Takenaga. But then again, she had the hussy to thank for opportunities to spend time with him.

"That's alright. I'll be fine on my own. Besides, Sunako-san and I have some _things_ to discuss," Takenaga drawled.

An angry red blush rose to her cheeks as she insisted,"It's no trouble for me, really! I-I've been meaning to get closer to her, so I'll be going,"

"Hm," Takenaga said thoughtfully. "Actually, now that I think about it, I have to help my mother with her flower arrangement class after school. I guess I can't go today," He looked straight into Noi's wide blue eyes, his own eyes dark and intense. "I would be most appreciative if you would go in my stead,"

Noi was blushing even more at the unexpected attention. She agreed easily. "Of course! It's my duty as vice class president to make sure that my classmates are up to date,"

"My thanks, Noi-_chan_," He smiled and gently handed his broom to her. On his way out, he gave her another brilliant smile and a hand wave.

Noi swallowed, her throat dry and her eyes impossibly wide. She hugged the broom to her chest with a dreamy, glazed-over look on her face and swept the floor with revived vigor. She stopped from time to time to repeat "_Noi-chan_" in a soft, happy voice and replayed his beautiful smile in her head.

Her classmates looked on in bemusement.

–

"So this is Nakahara's home," Ranmaru nodded his head. "Very nice,"

"The rosebushes and shrubs over there should give the perfect view of her balcony," Noi said excitedly. "If the little hussy really is sick, it's a good time to get rid of her!"

"Hm," The red-headed boy frowned. "That sounds too easy,"

Noi scowled at him with her hands on her hips. "I think we've been creative enough about it and it hasn't helped at all!"

Ranmaru paced in front of the front gates with a concentrated look. "I am curious about something, however,"

Noi looked at him in disbelief. "Don't tell me you're _interested _in her. I mean, I know what you're like, but _really_, Ranmaru,"

He stroked his chin and glanced down at Noi. "No, but I am interested in her relationship with the Takano boy,"

"What's so interesting about it? They're both total social disasters and that's that,"

"But what if the Takano boy harbors feelings of love for Nakahara? He put his life on the line to save her from the tigers. It was rather romantic," Ranmaru's eyes flashed as he thought of something. "How about we make this fun?" He smirked. "If the Takano boy shows up to visit her, then we investigate their relationship some more. If he doesn't, then we'll go in for the kill,"

Noi crossed her arms and pondered,"I wonder if he knows the kind of girl he's getting involved with. His standards are really strange if he's more attracted to her than to me," She tossed her long pretty hair over her shoulder. "Maybe he likes the 'bad-girl-social-reject' style. But in any case," Noi regarded her betrothed with a gleam in her baby blues. "Let's do it."


	14. Slumber P-A-R-T-Y

Disclaimer - do not own perfect girl evolution/wallflower

"SUNAKO-TAAAN!"

"Oof!"

"I thought you died!" Gin bawled in her ear while Yae wiped her nos – wait a minute...

"You're not Sunako-tan," Yae pulled her face away from the blonde hair of the teen she had tackled.

"Oh yeah?" Kyohei snapped as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

"What are you doing in Sunako-tan's house?" Yae asked. Then she smiled in understanding. "Oh, you must be her man,"

"Are you here to hump like bunnies?" Gin gazed curiously at the teenage boy. "Yuri's big brother told me that that's what people who like each other do,"

"Ugh," Kyohei gave the twins a disdainful look and walked off into the lavish foyer. "Oi! Nakahara! Get your ass down here. You have company,"

The three blondes heard shuffling footsteps and then the girl in question walked in.

"Wha – how did you get into my house?" Sunako said as she eyed the golden-haired trio suspiciously.

"Gin picked the lock," Yae said.

"Gin! Who taught you that?" Sunako stalked towards the little rascal with a frown.

"Um," He blinked. "You did,"

"I did? Why would I do that? Don't lie. If you lie, I'll set your pants on fire and make you wear them,"

"Not again!" Gin cried in dismay.

"Ow!" Sunako glared at the tall boy, who had the gall to swat her on the head with a stack of paper.

"Here," Kyohei shoved said stack of paper into her face, not caring when she almost dropped them. Jerk. "You were absent yesterday and today, so here's the make-up work,"

He studied her face intently and grabbed her chin to tilt her face this way and that. Her skin was pale, but it always was. She ought to go out more. "Hm. You don't look like you're sick,"

"See? I told you that he's her man," Yae murmured to Gin as they watched.

Sunako moved her face out of his hand and flipped her hair back. So sassy, Kyohei thought as he glared at her long hair. "I was having family issues,"

"Make me lunch. You owe me for the past two days and for bringing this shit here for you," He said, curling a finger around a lock of her hair and tugging on it.

"If that's what you're here for, then why are _you_ two here?" Sunako switched her attention to the twins and swatted his hand away. The Tomoyas had moved to the living room slash lounge area.

"You two, _huff_, never wait for me! _Huff_!" Another blonde person appeared in her home. Yuki walked in panting and looking appropriately sheepish. "Sorry, Sunako. For, um, coming over without calling. But the emergency at school happened so suddenly I didn't have time,"

"Emergency at school?" Sunako raised a brow.

Kyohei flopped down on a chaise chair. "It's why we were let out early today. All of the teachers -"

"Mercy, don't even speak of it!" Yuki cried and put his hands over his ears.

"Never forget," Kyohei said with a solemn nod and a shudder.

"So much...so much...it was everywhere!" Yuki shivered.

"Never trust Ito-sensei with silver Sharpie. Never get in Sakamoto-sensei's way when he wants some," Kyohei hugged himself as he trembled. "Anyway," He swept his bangs out his face coolly, regaining composure rather quickly. "The teachers are all under investigation, so until it's over, we're on vacation,"

"Wha-," Sunako looked between the two boys in bewilderment. "investigation for what-"

"Shh," Kyohei stood swiftly and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't speak of it. Ever,"

Sunako bit his palm and he shrieked and swiped her saliva on her shirt. He yanked her hair, which initiated face-scratching and hissing ("Bitch don't pull my hair!")

The Toyamas watched the interaction with growing indifference.

"Anyway," Yuki launched into an explanation. "The kindergarten teachers at the twins' kindergarten are also under investigation and my parents have work and well, I can't handle these two on my own so I was wondering if we could stay here until school starts again,"

"Yeah, that's fine," Sunako delicately smoothed her hair, finishing her fight with Kyohei. "It's not like I haven't had slumber parties with the twins before,"

The twins perked at the words "slumber parties."

Sunako stood aloofly by the window and clicked her heels together. "Gin. Yae. At attention," She commanded.

The twins immediately went before her, much to Yuki's amazement.

"Ma'am?" Yae saluted.

"Recite standard slumber party protocol,"

"Food preparation, recreational activities, bath time, and nap time," they chorused.

"Excellent. Dismissed,"

Yae and Gin turned heel and marched behind Sunako into the kitchen.

"H-How did she do that?" Yuki's jaw opened and then closed, too amazed to form words. "Is...Is this what they do when they're here every week?" He whispered nervously.

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Kyohei said faintly and turned on the television. Considering that it was Sunako...who the hell would leave their kids with her anyway? Whatever. He was laid out comfortably on the lounge chair, feet up and arms behind his head. Yuki was still standing and fidgeting a bit.

"Um, Kyohei-san?"

"Kyohei," He corrected without looking at the smaller boy.

"Right, Kyohei. We met at the hospital?" Yuki said it like it was a question.

Kyohei shifted his gaze to him and cocked a brow. Yuki looked away, feeling intimidated as he tried to initiate a conversation with the other teen.

"Um, so..." Yuki said, squirming at the awkwardness.

Kyohei's attention went back to the television.

"So do you like..." Yuki squinted at the screen and watched in horror when a lioness mauled a peacefully grazing gazelle. "Uh..."

"Sit down, you weenie." Kyohei muttered.

llllllllll

"When I grow up, I'm going to be just like Sunako-tan," Yae declared dreamily as she shaped a rice ball in her gloved hands.

Gin looked at her fearfully. "J_-J__ust _like her?"

Yae grinned maliciously and stuffed in a pickled plum. "_Just like her_,"

"You said you wanted to become a tuna!" Gin whined.

"Gin, it's okay for dreams and ambitions to change," Sunako said over her shoulder as she fried some shrimp.

"W-What are Sunako-tan's dreams?" Gin blinked owlishly up at her.

Sunako paused and set down her cooking utensil. "Hm, well, now that I think about it..."

"Sunako-tan's already perfect. She doesn't need dreams," Yae said matter-of-factly.

Sunako tapped her chin, then nodded. "I can go with that. 10 points for Yae,"

"Yay!"

Gin's eyes watered. "B-But what about my points?"

"Sit down, you weenie," Yae and Sunako said coldly.

"B-But I am sitting?"

"Sunako!" Another whining voice came from the kitchen entrance.

"Yuki-tan is crying," Yae said.

"Oh my Buddha," The dark-haired girl plated the last tempura shrimp before turning to the eldest Toyama. She addressed him with an impatient "What?"

"Kyohei is being mean!" Yuki lunged for her shoulder and stuck his crying face there. "He said he would change the channel if I beat him at arm wrestling but then he put me in a headlock!"

"Does it really take that long to roll some rice balls?" Kyohei swaggered in. His eyes lit up at the plate next to Sunako. "Ooh, shrimp,"

Sunako walked calmly to Yae and took the proffered rice ball. Then she walked back to Kyohei, slapped his hands away from the shrimp, and shoved the rice ball in his face.

A tense silence fell over the five minors.

Then, "There's too much vinegar in this," Kyohei picked the rice off of his puckered face. He grabbed the half-formed rice ball from Gin...

And flung it at Sunako's head.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Yae cried and lunged for the fridge.

Yuki ran to the table and ripped a banana off of the bunch and held it defensively.

"Get the wasabi, Yae!" cried Sunako.

"Duck, Sunako-tan!" Yae used the fridge door as a shield as Gin aimed a can of tuna at her. "Natto incoming!"

Sunako yelped as she barely dodged the sticky, smelly fermented soybeans hitting the cabinet above her head and dripping onto the counter and floor. Kyohei cackled gleefully.

Gin backed into the table, screaming at Yae's egg barrage, and knocked the soy sauce and vinegar onto the floor.

Yuki cried and held onto the banana for dear life.

Gin squealed and slipped on the vinegar-soy sauce mess.

"Eat this, you worm!" Yae yelled and scooped a fistful of wasabi and hurled it at Kyohei.

Sunako raided the fridge and spotted her tub of green tea ice cream. _Take one for the team, good friend_, Sunako stroked the ice cream tub fondly.

"I wonder if they'll know if it's ice cream or if it's wasabi since they're both green and have similar textures!" Yae said with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

"Let them figure it out," Sunako grinned and tore the lid off of the ice cream.

Meanwhile, Kyohei was screaming in pain and clawing the wasabi out of his eyes. He blindly managed his way to the counter and groped around until he found a container. "Panko?" He pried his eye open to read the label and laughed maniacally.

Kyohei's elbow accidentally brushed against the handle of the pan filled with sizzling oil from frying the shrimp. Lucky bastard that he was, he obliviously walked away before the pan crashed onto the floor.

Yuki and Gin cried and clung to each other as the girls alternated between wasabi and green tea ice cream.

"That's what you get for wetting the bed and making my cuttlefish plushie dirty with your pee!" Yae yelled vindictively at her twin and dished out the wasabi.

Sunako saw Kyohei approaching with the panko breadcrumbs. He still couldn't see properly because of the wasabi on his face so the sole brunette kicked a chair and watched it skid into him.

"_Goddammit Nakahara_!" Kyohei snarled as he slipped on the oil-vinegar-soy-bah, who's counting what the hell was on the floor at this point! Kyohei fell on his backside and catapulted the panko container into the air.

It would be pretty, Sunako thought, if only the breadcrumbs didn't stick to every damp surface in the kitchen.

"I am not a weenie!" Gin cried and grabbed fistfuls of grapes and threw them blindly. "Give me that!" He snapped at his older brother and mashed the banana into Yuki's terrified face.

Kyohei was staring up at the ceiling, blinded by the ceiling light and delirious from the wasabi and the pain.

"Eep!" A feminine yelp, followed by a body crashing into his.

He recognized the scent of her hair as it swept over his face. Without thinking, he had his hands around her waist to steady her. Her face was in his chest, where his heart was starting to beat quicker. For some reason. He held her waist and then his hands absentmindedly moved down to her hips.

Sunako was reeling at the scent of wasabi and liquid condiments so close to her face. Her attention snapped towards the long fingers digging into her hips. Her mind went blank as she realized who she was lying on. Sunako's pulse drummed loudly in her ears when he rolled over her. His nose bumped clumsily against hers and she held her breath. Bronze eyes were half-lidded as he watched her under him.

"You get away from Sunako-tan, you rakish fiend!" Yae upturned the sake onto Kyohei's head. Brown eyes widened at Sunako as the sake ran off of him and onto her. "Pervert," _Smack._ "pervert!" _Smack._ "PERVERT -"

_Ding dong! _

The young blonde girl stopped thrashing the bottle against the older blonde's head. "I'll get it!" Yae skipped away, swinging the empty sake bottle. Kyohei's eyes rolled back and he fainted on Sunako.

"You're the weenie. Who's the weenie? _Who's the weenie?_"

"I-I'm the weenie! Please stop beating me with your juice box, Gin."

Meanwhile, Yae reached the front door and opened it. Two teenagers, both with reddish hair and sunglasses, stared at the five year-old with the empty sake bottle in her hand for a beat, before smiling at her.

"Hi there! I'm Nono and this is Rei," The pretty girl said. Yae stared at the cardboard box in her arms. "Our dog had puppies, so we were wondering if you wanted to adopt one,"

"Puppies?" Yae peered into the box. Five squirming, furry things were whimpering and pawing at each other. She narrowed her eyes at the two. "You think I want a puppy?"

Nono tilted her head slightly, smiling confusedly. "Um. Yes?"

"So you think just because I'm a little girl I want a puppy? Can't I have any other interests besides in cute things?"

Nono shot the red-headed boy a confused look.

"No, not at all," Nono said quickly, trying to mollify the little one. "It doesn't have to be for you! You can get one for someone else who likes puppies. Someone in your family maybe. Maybe his name rhymes with Muki Moyama. Maybe he should come over and take a look,"

"Look, I don't know any Muki Moyama, but I think I need an adult,"

"I am an adult. What's up, Yae?" Auntie appeared. She glanced at the teens and furrowed her brows at them. "Aren't you two -"

"Look, puppies!" Nono squeaked and thrust the box into Auntie's face.

"Oh my!"

Yae scoffed and crossed her arms. "Hmph. If you were trying to kidnap me, you should have tried bringing me a giant squid or a dolphin,"

"Abort mission," Nono hissed at the boy.

"I'll take all of them," Auntie said happily.

Nono shoved the box into Auntie's arms. "Take 'em! Bye!"

Auntie watched the retreating red-heads closely. "Hm. They couldn't possibly be..." She looked down at the box of puppies and cooed at their furry white faces, completely distracted from finishing her thought. "How cute! Out you go,"

She lifted each one out of the box and set them down. The puppies whined and snuffled the floor. Every single puppy head turned sharply at the scent of food coming from...that way! They raced towards the kitchen, unaware of the paradise awaiting them.

"Always telling me to eat my vegetables, but you never eat yours either," Gin angrily snapped a leek over his knee and held it threateningly at his big brother's throat.

"Leave me alone!" Yae screeched at the puppy licking her ankle.

"Leave me alone!" Sunako screeched at Kyohei, who was eating his way through her green tea ice cream barrage. She crawled backwards on the floor and flung the frozen confectionery up at the predatory look on his face.

A smiling Auntie looked at the scene then promptly walked back upstairs.

"Puppies! So I'm not in hell?" Yuki looked on in wonder. The puppies were licking everything. Everywhere. Everyone.

"My fingers are not for eating!" Sunako furiously struggled against Kyohei's grip on her wrists as he licked ice cream off of her hands. He stopped when he felt a tongue on his ankle. Sunako looked down.

The puppy made a delighted high-pitched noise and nipped at him. Kyohei lifted it by its scruff and let it lick the wasabi off of his cheek.

"I'm no expert at dogs, but I don't think they're suppose to eat that," Sunako told him pointedly, one wrist still in his hand. She glanced around. "Or that. Or that. Or that,"

Gin and Yae stood on the kitchen island holding a pumpkin together. They were smiling. Yuki was hiding under the table, hugging himself and rocking back and forth.

"Uh oh," Kyohei grimaced and snuggled the puppy to his chest for comfort.

The twins dropped the pumpkin.

It broke, stringy, wet innards exploding.

"Gin, Yae," Sunako said wearily, wiping her forehead with the hand not covered in Kyohei's saliva. "100 points. You two win,"

"_Yay!_"

llllllllll

"It's peeing on itself," Yae said in disgust.

"Puppies don't lift their legs when they're this young," Yuki said, cradling two squirming, yipping puppies in his arms.

"Ugh. Yuki-tan, I want a shark,"

"Alright, maggots," Sunako was back in Commander Mode. The four blondes were lined up in the backyard, Kyohei picking at his nails and the Toyamas shuffling nervously in the freshly cut grass under Sunako's glare and the garden hose she was holding menacingly. "Who wants bath time first? How about the maggot who started this?"

"I'm pretty sure _your_ maggot ass started this," Kyohei flicked the anchovies out of his hair in annoyance.

"Yae called it," Gin said moodily, shuffling his feet.

"The puppies pooped _everywhere_," Yae despaired.

"I-I need an adult," Yuki shivered, clearly traumatized.

"I am an adult," Sunako shot a stream of water at the puppies in Yuki's arms as he screamed. "Practically, anyway. Where the Buddha did _they_," Here she gestured at the puppies with the hose (menacingly). "come from anyway?"

"Long story," Yae replied shortly.

Sunako nodded. "Good answer."

The puppies keened at Sunako's water torture. Yuki was rocking back and forth again and mumbling something about how this was _exactly_ how the incident at school was like, Yae and Gin were helping her wash the puppies, and Kyohei was on drying duty.

Kyohei stood up with a mischievous smile. He peeled off his dirty shirt and flung it onto Sunako's head. While she was disoriented, the heartthrob stole the garden hose from her and took aim. He wished her dress had been white.

"Woo! 100 points for Kyohei-kun!" Yae chimed, squealing in delight when he then turned on her and Gin with the hose.

Sunako wriggled her head out of the filthy thing on her head. She ground her teeth at her soaked dress and started wringing the skirt.

"That was fun," Yuki had snapped out of his trauma (or chose to repress the memories) and was smiling brightly now. "But are you really going to keep five puppies?"

"No," Sunako said. "I ain't taking care of them and neither will Auntie, no matter what she says otherwise,"

"We don't have much of choice then, other than trying to get them adopted," said Yuki.

"After cleaning up, bathing, and laundry," she said.

Sunako was trying not to stare at Kyohei. Still chasing down the twins. Still shirtless.

"Listen up, you filthy maggots," Sunako said. "Get back inside. It's cleaning time."

lllllllllll

So it was like Sunako had said it would be. The puppies dried off in the sunlight back in their cardboard box in the backyard.

They tackled the slippery kitchen floor, then they cleaned off every surface. By the time the kitchen was spotless, the guests at the Nakahara residence were drained physically, psychologically (Yuki and Gin), and emotionally (again,Yuki and Gin).

The teenage boys were sprawled, with muscles spasms here and there, on the kitchen floor, fingers wrapped around cleaning cloths and bottles of cleaner.

Sunako and the twins were headed to the bathroom. They stripped and dumped their clothes into the washing machine before they washed and soaked in the tub.

Gin was looking contemplatively at a rubber ducky. "Sunako-tan," he asked. "Can I stop being a weenie if I become friends with Kyohei-tan? He's so manly,"

Sunako, not really wanting to answer nor enter this strange territory that Gin was in ever since the food fight, gave a non-committal, "Yes."

Yae snickered in between making dolphin sounds. "I bet Kyohei-tan was like you before he became Sunako-tan's man,"

Gin's eyes glittered. "So does that mean if I become Sunako-tan's ma-"

"No."

"Okay."

lllllllll

Kyohei mustered up the energy to drag himself over to the plate of shrimp tempura that had survived the food war. It was cold, but that didn't stop the shrimp-eating fiend from eating it all.

"Won't that give you a stomach ache?" Yuki croaked from his spot on the floor.

"Shut up," Kyohei said. His attention had gone to the sound of splashing and dolphin noises coming from the bathroom.

He stalked towards the washing machine and took off his pants. The screen door leading to the bathroom showed the silhouette of the three soaking in the bath. Kyohei carelessly put his clothes into the washer. He took note of the two little robes with animal ears on the hoods hanging on hooks on the wall of the laundry room. He took interest in Sunako's towel and with no hesitation, wrapped it around his naked waist. Then he walked back out to the living room and sat down, arms crossed behind his head.

And waited.

Yuki walked out of the kitchen and stared at him. "Um. Why are you nake-"

"Where is my towel!" Sunako's angry voice made Kyohei smile serenely. Ah. There she was.

"You can wear my robe!" Yae said excitedly.

"Yae, please find my towel,"

"Aye aye, capitan!" Yae ran out of the bathroom, eyes gleaming as she searched in her lion cub robe.

Kyohei eyed her from the couch. Yae took one look at his evil smile and then fled.

"Well?" Sunako said through the door, her silhouette visible. Bath water was starting to evaporate from her skin and she was starting to feel cold.

"Kyohei-tan is wearing it. Nakedly,"

"Kill him,"

"Aye, capitan," The pigtailed girl wrung her hands and glanced at Sunako's silhouette. "Success rate is less than 50%, I'm afraid,"

"_Kill him_,"

Yae saluted and ran back out.

Gin was swinging his feet as he sat on the bench in the laundry room. "So if I become Kyohei-tan's man, will I-"

"Gin Toyama, my success rate is _always _100%," Sunako hissed.

"I never got a clear look last time," Kyohei's voice drawled. "But this is pretty nice,"

Yae was biting his leg with all her might, but he easily pulled her off and set her down next to Gin. Kyohei smiled and crossed his arms across his chest. Ah. Time to mess with her. His favorite time.

"You wanted your towel, didn't you? Come get it,"

"Uh...think of the children?"

Yae had drawn blood. Kyohei wiped it off thoughtfully. "Something tells me that you don't care much about what happens in front of them. So neither will I,"

"Why are you trying to see me naked?"

"Why not?"

"Stop,"

"I'm horny,"

Yae and Gin quietly left the room. Kyohei grinned and hopped onto the washing machine. He stared at her silhouette intently.

"I'll beat you up," She threatened.

"Naked? Go for it,"

She glared at his silhouette.

"You saw me shirtless. You owe me, Nakahara. You owe me for lots of things,"

"I owe you nothing but a beating,"

"Let's play strip poker," Kyohei said excitedly.

"..."

His grin became sinister. "Strip poker or you can walk back upstairs naked,"

"I don't know what's wrong with you," she mumbled, brows drawn inward. "But fine. I shall beat you out of your clothes, fool,"

"We'll see about that,"

His shadow rose, arms falling to his sides as he prowled towards the door. It opened slightly, just enough for his hand to pass.

He slipped the towel off and handed it to her. Sunako snatched it and quickly slid the door close.

"_Kyohei-tan is wearing it. He's naked." _

"Buddha's mother," Sunako sighed and stared at her towel, her face feeling hot. Ugh. He'd been wearing it around his naked self. Her towel had been around his _naked_ parts. Her naked parts would touch his naked parts indirectly. She gasped as she realized that he was roaming around her house naked now. "Ugh! Damn it! Think of the children!"

Kyohei smiled as he heard her cries of distress. If the Toyama siblings were avoiding him due to his nudity, now they were running for their lives from that satisfied and villainous look on his face.

llllllllll

"This one is Bruce," Yae lifted the puppy with the tan ears. She lifted another puppy, with a brown spot on his muzzle, and introduced it as Orochi. "That one," Yae nudged the blue-eyed puppy with her toe. "is Seal,"

"But I named that one Momo," Gin sulked.

"That's Momo," Yae nodded towards the runt. "And this," Yae scooped up the sleeping puppy. "is Juanita,"

"Shouldn't we let whoever adopts them name them?" Yuki rubbed the back of his neck. He was uncomfortable with how much his baby sister was turning into her babysitter.

She looked at him coldly. "No."

The boys had bathed after the girls. After Kyohei had gotten out of the bath, Sunako had been sure to claw his stupid pervert face, though he had looked eerily pleased by her behavior. Masochist.

The sun would be setting soon, so they set out to the market place with the puppies. Sunako figured it wouldn't take long, with four beautiful faces helping.

"Exploitation time! Take off your shirt," She demanded. Kyohei scowled at her and refused ("Don't objectify me.") Yuki didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Come and get 'em, hot off the baby-making press!" Yae pitched cheerily.

Sunako smiled when, as predicted, a crowd of women swarmed them. She had to put her foot down here and there when some tried to make off with Yae or Gin or Yuki and informed them that _they_ were not up for adoption.

Kyohei just stood there and frowned. He glanced at her when she went to stand by him. "I'll take my shirt off only if we exclude Yuki from strip poker,"

"What is wrong with you?" Sunako mumbled. "You're so frisky all of sudden," She tilted her face to meet his eyes. "Did you miss me that much at school? Don't answer that,"

"Don't ask, then," He muttered, looking away.

"Stop being weird then,"

He shrugged. "It's normal to be horny,"

"That's no excuse to sexually harass me,"

Kyohei growled when a hand groped the front of his pants. "Fuck your mother, _this_ is sexual harassment. Fuck," He growled at the granny who was blushing and holding her hand reverently.

The purple-eyed girl gave him a sidelong look and raised her brows.

"Hey, Sunako-tan, we sold three of them," Yae pulled on her skirt.

"Sold?" Sunako blinked down at her. "I thought they were going to be adopted,"

"We made $150 off of Seal and Momo. We're having a buy one, get one half-off for Bruce and Orochi," Yae explained. "We can buy all the food we wasted at your house and then we can buy candy with the rest of the money!"

Sunako smiled, surprised at her maturity. "That's very thoughtful of you,"

"You and Mama always say not to waste food," Yae smiled back brightly.

The Nakahara heiress watched Yuki and Gin, who were...

"I didn't know Yuki knew how to eat fire," Sunako said in awe. "And Gin's doing card tricks,"

"Yeah, they're pretty talented," Yae shrugged and counted her bills before stuffing them into her apron. "I think we'll have money leftover to buy dinner,"

"He's juggling fire," Kyohei and Sunako's eyes were glazed over as they watched the eldest Toyama.

Then it started to rain.

"Oh no!" Yae groaned as the crowd quickly dispersed as quickly as they came. "We still have Juanita,"

"Let's go home," Yuki dropped the fire torches that were fizzled out and Gin slipped his pack of cards back into his pocket.

And for the second time that day, Kyohei wished Sunako had been wearing white.

llllllllll

Sunako gazed deeply into dark eyes set in white fur.

Juanita stared back sleepily from her spot in Kyohei's sweater.

"I guess we're keeping her then," said Sunako, her face near Kyohei's shoulder as she stared at her new pet. "Hello, Juanita Nakahara,"

The twins shook themselves like wet dogs and delighted in leaving rain puddles on Sunako's carpet.

Kyohei took Juanita out of his hoodie and placed her in Sunako's arms. He ruffled his wet blonde spikes with his fingers.

"It's a nice name," Yuki cooed at Juanita and play with her floppy ears. "My name's Yuki!" He greeted enthusiastically.

"Juanita doesn't care," Kyohei scoffed.

The tall blonde shifted his eyes to Sunako, who was looking at him through her bangs. He flashed a grin and mouthed, "Nap time."

Sunako sighed and trudged over to the twins. Oh, they knew what time it was. Like prey animal, they stilled. She bit the inside of her mouth. In a blink of an eye, they were running up the stairs.

Five minutes later...

"But I don't wanna!" Yae whined.

Their babysitter brought the cover up to the twins' chins tightly while they squirmed like the little naptime-avoiding maggots they were.

"Maggots," Sunako hissed at them. "You didn't honestly think you could escape, did you?"

Gin had given up and was falling asleep cuddled up to Juanita. Yae was looking teary-eyed at her hero. She pouted.

"No. No pouting. Sleep." Sunako decreed and so Yae huffed and closed her eyes.

Yuki patted Gin's feet through the covers of the futon. The were in the living room since the twins thought sleeping upstairs was creepy. Their standards for creepy, Yuki decided, were a little off. He stared out the large windows and in the fading sunlight. He could have sworn he saw someone in the garden...

"A_ menage a trois_? A _MENAGE A TROIS_?!"

"Ranmaru, calm down!" Noi shrieked and grabbed his arm, forcing him back down behind the bushes. "Shut up, fool!"

Ranmaru was making choking noises. "The – They're NAKED! Yuki is in his boxers and the Takano is – oh, he's taking off his pants now. Oh, hold me, Noi!"

Noi gritted her teeth. God, why did her partner-in-crime have to be such a drama queen? "They're playing strip poker. Wait – no," She shifted her binoculars. "They're not following poker rules. I think they're playing strip Go Fish. Nakahara is asking for Takano's 9s, but he doesn't have any,"  
>Ranmaru clutched his heart and looked at Noi in horror. "Th-Then she's going to remove her clothes? In front of Yuki?"<p>

Noi adjusted her binoculars. "Oh. She just took of her house slippers,"

Ranmaru fanned himself. "Good," Then he panicked again. "What if Yuki likes feet? _Women's _feet?"

"He doesn't look that interested in her feet. Nice pedicure though," Noi hummed thoughtfully at the mint green color on her rival's toenails.

"Noi," Ranmaru implored, his tone soft and pained. "What will we do? It seems like the Nakahara has all three of them in her sinister web. _She has a harem_ and we're sitting here watching her enjoy it! I can't stand it!"

She snapped her eyes to his. "Look, I don't like sitting by like this either. We tried killing her but she has nine lives, so it seems," Noi rubbed her chin, eyebrows furrowed. "I guess we could try to manipulate her harem, but Yuki seems okay with sharing with Takano," She chewed her lip worriedly. "I don't think Takenaga would tolerate her consorting with other boys, but Yuki is the problem here,"

"_Exactly_," Ranmaru cried. "He can't be in her harem. He can't!"

"We'll figure something out," Noi bit her lip and looked at the Nakahara girl take off her stockings. The delinquent boy (Takano) looked much more interested in watching the gauzy fabric slide off of her legs than Yuki, but they all looked like they were having fun. That wouldn't do.

"I hate how happy he looks," The redheaded boy declared angrily. "Look. He's smiling. With her,"

"Maybe if you hadn't been so rough with him and hadn't cheated on him with some girl, we wouldn't be camped out in her garden spying on them! This is _your_ problem so you can fix it," Noi huffed and shoved the binoculars at Ranmaru.

She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. Noi fixed him with a hard stare.

"But if _you_ mess up and _we _have to get married," She turned her back to him, but her head turned to face him, blue eyes glinting frighteningly in the fading sunlight. "_You won't get the chance to make up with Yuki ever again._"

llllllllll

"Go fish," Kyohei grinned. Sunako was on a losing streak.

Her violet eyes darkened as she drew another card from the deck. Damn. No luck there either.

"Take it off!" Yuki whooped, evidently in high spirits.

The teens had found Auntie's beer cases. The boys were insistent on drinking, but Sunako wasn't about to lead them to her Aunt's outrageous alcohol stash. Beer would do for these heathens.

Kyohei crushed his second beer can and tossed it into the growing pile on the floor.

The lone girl sucked in her cheeks in annoyance. She was sitting, so the skirt could go then. Sunako slid it off of her hips and it pooled at her feet. The skirt joined her house slippers and her pantyhose in a pile similar to the ones the boys had. She ignored Kyohei's stares – he seemed to be interested in her legs, she noticed – and delicately crossed her legs.

Kyohei had lost his shirt, Yuki his shirts and his pants. Sunako really was impressed by hard and defined muscles in former's arms, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. Kyohei had a magnificent physique. He was aware of her admiration and just grinned cockily at her.

"Hm, nice panties,"

It had puppies on it. Speaking of, Juanita was sleeping besides Sunako on her chair. The puppy had somehow stumbled upon the teens and made her sleepy self comfortable by her owner. Sunako wondered if Juanita's sleepiness was normal puppy behavior or if she had some kind of dog narcolepsy.

They were on the large balcony with the sun setting in front of them. There were tables and chairs set outside, which was where the trio (plus Juanita) were playing strip Go Fish, since none of them knew how to play poker.

Sunako swirled her beer can. She didn't really like it. Thanks to Auntie, she had a taste for wine and sake. When she told the boys this, they laughed at her and threw beer cans at her.

"Gee, I'm feeling kinda drowsy," Yuki yawned. He dropped his arms onto the table, his head resting on them.

Kyohei shifted his legs, brushing against Sunako's. She bristled and his only indication to her discomfort was a small smile. "Go away then," he said.

"You're mean," Yuki slurred and swayed on his feet. He flung his cards down dramatically. "Come on Juanita! We're going to bed,"

He scooped up the sleeping puppy and stumbled inside, to the living room.

Leaving Sunako and Kyohei alone.

Kyohei looked up at her through his eyelashes, a fiendish gleam in his eyes. He swung his legs, trying to kick her.

"Stop trying to kick me," Sunako snapped. He kept swinging them so she retaliated with a foot to his thigh.

Kyohei caught her ankle and yanked it. The dark haired girl shrieked as she fell onto her behind in a _completely _and unacceptably undignified manner.

"Motherfu-!" Sunako grabbed her beer and sloshed it at him.

Kyohei snickered and hopped out of the way.

"I will kill your family and set your house on fire," She seethed and kicked her chair at his legs.

"I'll live in this nice ass mansion then," He scooped his shirt off of the floor and flung it at her head (again!) but this time she dodged it.

The blonde teen advanced and tickled her sides. Sunako fought off a squeal and shoved his chest. He grabbed her wrists just as she tripped over a beer can.

And sent both of them over the balcony's ledge.

"Ow," she whined into his shoulder.

Kyohei groaned and sat up, Sunako sitting in his lap in a daze. "Good thing this balcony isn't that high," he ruffled his hair and glanced around at the garden. His hand landed in a rose bush, but luckily he hadn't touched a thorn. "Or that fall would've hurt a lot worse,"

She nodded and crawled off his lap, though not without him tugging on her hair. Sunako slapped his hand and sat in the damp grass. It sparkled under the dying sunlight, wet from the rain from earlier. Spring weather was so fickle.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked, raising her brows at his shirtless-ness.

"Aren't your panties getting wet?"

"Shut up," Sunako said to the rakish look on his face. Perv.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and made herself comfortable. It was a warm, pretty evening.

"Where were you?"

Her eyes flickered to his face. He looked bored, reclining on his hands like that.

"I went to my uncle's death anniversary," she said, gazing at the sunset. "I found some interesting information there,"

"Like what?"

"Mm, that my aunt was part of the Oda clan but she married someone from the Mori clan. She also might have been pregnant at some point, but those are just rumors," Sunako turned back to face him. "So that cleared up why Takenaga's mom was so pissed at Auntie," She looked up thoughtfully. "Speaking of, I guess Takenaga wasn't lying about me being an Oda, but I still want to know what_ I_ did to get kicked out of the Oda clan,"

"You'll have to do some more investigating then, huh?" He rubbed his nose, looking irritated. "That fucking Oda tried to threaten me today," Kyohei scoffed.

She looked at him curiously. "Why'd he threaten you?"

"You should ask him yourself," he said curtly, pulling up blades of grass in fistfuls.

"Stop that," she scolded and stilled his hands. "You're ruining my garden. Was it because of me?"

Kyohei shot her a wry look, eyes dark. "Who else?"

He dumped some grass on her head, so she lunged at his throat, pushing him onto his back. He seemed to be enjoying her strangling him. Masochist. Kyohei grabbed her waist and rolled her over. He pried her fingers off of his neck, but she redirected her hands to his hair and pulled.

"Ow," He growled at her and held her wrists in one hand above her head. "Don't touch my hair,"

Sunako squealed when he tickled her sides. He grinned down at her evilly. She kicked him off of her and rolled away.

"You got grass in your hair," He laughed when she threw a small shovel at him.

Sunako huffed and stood. She tried to smooth her skirt when she remembered she wasn't wearing it. She glared at the blonde boy, watching her with his elbows on the ground and his palms supporting his chin. He swung his feet in the air and smirked.

"I said it once," he leered at her hips. "I'll say it again. Nice panties,"

She ground her teeth, purple eyes flashing. Fucking pervert! She walked up to him, arms crossed over her chest. She lifted one foot and smashed down on the top of his head, smashing his face into the ground.

She could make out his muffled, "Nakahara!" Sunako smiled triumphantly, but he went for her ankles and yanked her to the ground again.

Kyohei sat up onto his knees and pulled her under him again. They tussled some more, the dark-haired girl hissing and kicking and the blonde boy restraining her and pulling her hair. He decided then that he must like girls with long hair.

Sunako gained the upper hand again and rolled on top of him. She ripped off a chunk of grass and shoved into his face, pinning his hands down at his sides with her knees digging into his palms.

He bit her fingers. She yelped and slapped him. He bit her forearm hard and then shifted his weight, unbalancing her.

Kyohei pushed her onto her back, kneeling between her legs and bit her bare shoulder. She yelped, trying to shove him off. He didn't budge, which made Sunako wonder if he was letting her push him away. A slight chill went down her spine as she wondered at his true level of strength.

His nose brushed along her neck and he dragged his teeth over her skin, breath hot. Sunako's breath caught, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. His breathing was rough as he bit down on where her neck joined her shoulder. She cried out, not entirely in pain, her hips moving against his. Kyohei grunted, warm lips on her collarbone. Her lower abdomen fluttered as she felt something hard press into her. Sunako's breath shortened and she gasped. Kyohei's hands tightened on her hips. Long fingers then drove into her hair. His lips moved over her jaw as he shoved his hips closer to hers. Sunako was barely aware that her legs had relaxed and spread wider to accommodate him. She moaned as he moved his hips and the front of his pants rubbed the front of her panties. Just as the feeling in her lower body intensified, he pulled away and laid down next to her.

They were both panting and sweating, lying next to each other on the grass. Kyohei, sans his shirt and Sunako, sans her skirt.

Her mind felt blank as she stared at the darkening sky. Her skin felt so sensitive to the grass flickering against her bare legs and arms, her stomach still feeling odd. Sunako had to force herself to glance over at him, feeling hesitant for some reason. His eyes were closed as his breath evened out, his hands behind his head.

Sunako closed her eyes as well and tried to calm herself down.


	15. Mermaid

**disclaimer - I do not own Wallflower.  
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"Takano,"

Kyohei squinted at the other boy. He spat on the sidewalk in front of him. "Oda,"

Takenaga took his time walking towards Kyohei from the school gates, glancing disdainfully at Kyohei's spit before stepping over it.

His dark eyes were cold."Stay out of Sunako's affairs," Takenaga got in the other boy's face and said, "She will be my fiance soon,"

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "What the fuck," Kyohei hissed. He straightened his spine and towered over the Oda boy.

Takenaga smirked and crossed his arms. "I won't have you interfering with my plans,"

Kyohei scoffed. "Eat a dick. I'll do whatever I want with her and she'll do whatever she wants with me. Like she'd marry you, you piece of shit," He spat right on Takenaga's shoe, lips curling up at the Oda's black expression.

Takenaga's features relaxed as he quickly composed himself, that polite smile fixed to his face. He swiftly got on his knee to wipe his shoe with a handkerchief. Looking away with a smile, Takenaga said, "Oh, but you'd be surprised what people will do when they're under pressure,"

Kyohei's eyes narrowed at the dark-haired boy's head. He bared his teeth. "Can't say anything straight, hm? Always speaking in riddles,"

Takenaga's smirk widened as he stood from kneeling. "Sunako said the same,"

"We're one and the same," Kyohei said dryly. His expression hardened, eyes flinty and jaw clenched. "Listen. You don't tell me what to do. You stay the fuck out of my fucking affairs and you stay the fuck away from her and her fucking affairs, got it? You think you're so slick and shit, huh, _planning,_" The blonde spat at the word and walked off, muttering to himself, "Who the fuck does he think he is, huh?"

Takenaga frowned, following Kyohei. There was no amusement from the Oda when he grabbed the other boy's shoulder in a strong grip and said, "Do not interfere,"

Kyohei shrugged his hand off and glared over his shoulder. "Don't touch me,"

Takenaga looked him straight in the eye. "Remember that I had the mercy to warn you,"

Kyohei laughed harshly and walked away. Like he hadn't been _warned _before.

lllllllll

In the dark, moonless night Sunako could only make out the silhouette of his sharp nose and long eyelashes.

They had fallen asleep there, on the damp grass, half-naked. Their clothes were still lying on the balcony. Should she climb up or should she go through the front door? It was locked, though.

Sunako sighed, swatting the prickly grass away from her face. She sat up and stared at the sleeping boy, hardly believing he was there. It was...jarring to still see him here, on her property, _sleeping _right next to her. Kyohei didn't snore, but he breathed so loud!

The shitty _octopus _had the nerve to drape his leg over her hip but Sunako quickly put an end to the that. He had also rolled onto her hair and that, out of all his obnoxious sleeping behavior, had woken her up. She had turned on her side with his stupid fat head on the length of her hair. Sunako rubbed her smarting scalp and sighed some more.

She didn't want to contemplate the light, fluttering feeling in her stomach. It felt like she was anticipating something when she looked at him or thought of him. She forced herself to face away from him but that didn't stop any thoughts of him in the least.

Sunako stood, feeling lightheaded, and made for the front door, brushing bits of grass off of the back of her thighs. _Thighs. He_ had been between them. She could still feel the rough brush of his jeans against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Her stomach lurched. She growled at her train of thoughts. Kyohei was her friend. Friends didn't do things like that, that much she was aware of.

She rubbed her neck as she tried the door, just in case it was open for some reason. Auntie being the number one reason. She withdrew her fingers at the sensitivity of her skin. _He _had been biting her, like a giant mosquito. Even her fingers had his bite marks on them.

Sunako sucked her teeth. The door swung open. The Nakahara mansion was silent and swathed in dark blue. She locked the door behind her and walked to the living room to check on the Toyamas. There were two lumps in the futon and Yuki sprawled out with the covers tangled in his legs. Sunako stared at the futon, trying to make out Juanita in the darkness. She yawned and stretched her arms out. The puppy was probably cuddling with one of the twins. Sunako dragged out a futon from the closet and pulled it besides the twins' futons. She went out to the balcony and retrieved her skirt. After some thought, she grabbed Kyohei's shirt and shoes and chucked them over the balcony where he was still sleeping.

Lying on the futon, she stared at one of the Toyama siblings, waiting for her eyes to adjust. It was probably Gin. He slept with the covers over his head because the dark spooked him. Yae only slept with all the lights off and refused any discussion about compromising with a night light. She smiled into her pillow. Poor Gin. She looked at Yae, bemused by the covers over her head.

She should have woken up Kyohei and brought him inside. That's what a good hostess would have done. Biting her lip, she reached an arm over Gin and pulled him to her for comfort, like a breathing stuffed toy. He was...soft? Sunako sat up and threw the covers off.

Pillows. She sighed.

Sunako crawled to Yuki and shook him. "Yuki. The twins are gone,"

"Huh?"

She held up a pillow from Gin's futon, expression flat. "They sneaked off. Did you see them?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked at her with heavy lidded eyes. "No," He mumbled. "Probably in the kitchen," He rolled onto his side and yawned.

Sunako scowled. "The light is off in the kitchen. I don't hear anything,"

"Maybe they're using a flashlight,"

She glanced at him. "Maybe,"

Sunako pushed the kitchen door open, expecting trouble-making maggots tucking away snacks. She huffed, brows raised. "Not in here,"

She returned to the living room. Her heart started to pound. She tried to make out any sounds in the rest of the house. The rooms that were unused were all locked, so the twins could only be in the bathroom, her room, or Auntie's room if they were upstairs. Unless Gin picked some doors open. Sunako groaned. Now was not the time to be playing hide and seek.

"Yuki," she shook him impatiently. "They aren't on this floor. Get up and help me look,"

He whined but got up anyway."Those two," He growled.

"You can sleep after we find and kill them," Sunako stalked up the stairs, taking two at a time.

She slammed open her door and searched under her bed, inside her closet, and all the other places a child could hide in. Those two could _not _be stupid enough to go outside at this hour. Her hands were shaking as she swiped her keys, cellphone, and a flashlight. And they took the damn dog with them! Sunako gritted her teeth and stormed back out.

Yuki's brows pointed inward in distress, all traces of sleepiness gone. "They're not in Auntie's room or in the bathroom or the closet!"

"Check the kitchen again and try all the doors," Sunako shoved her feet into a pair of sandals. "I'll check the backyard,"

Sunako noted two small pairs of shoes missing as she opened the front door. Her body was tight with tension. She shot the flashlight at every bush and behind every tree. Her heart felt heavier with each step. Two children, _alone, _roaming the Yakuza-infested night. She rubbed her arms. The black night felt like it was swallowing her. It was silent, no chirping insects or cars passing by. All she could hear was her own thundering heartbeat and shaky breath and her feet rustling the grass. Cold wind lashed at her skin. She gnawed on her lip. She should have fixed the damn lanterns in the yard. The light shining from the flashlight wavered.

A hand grabbed her upper arm.

Sunako screamed.

"What's got you so spooked?" Kyohei grumbled, letting go of her.

She clutched her chest, shaking from head to toe. She speared him with a glare that could drop the temperature in hell. He ignored it, passing a hand over his face and stretching. He lowered his arms and gave her a puzzled look. "What's up?"

Sunako crossed her arms, avoiding his eyes. Now was not the time to think about him and...those kinds of thoughts. "The twins are missing," she said.

His eyes widened. "What? You sure they're not in the house?"

She nodded, face grim. "Yuki's double-checking. It seems like those two morons were trying to sneak out. They stuffed their futons and took their shoes,"

Kyohei quickly pulled on his shirt. "Let's get going then,"

"Where would they go?" she muttered. "The store? The park?"

Kyohei patted her back, moving her forward. "I'll look in the park. You check out the convenience stores. Call me, alright?"

They split up, both running in opposite directions. Sunako was too frazzled to remember if she ever exchanged numbers with him.

_They'll be fine. They're young, but they're clever, slippery little fiends_. She had saw to that. Her nerves were not satisfied with this.

Sunako's skin broke out into goosebumps as she passed groups of people, smoking and drinking and making intimidating faces outside several restaurants and shops. Several in possession of illegal firearms. _Breathe in for 8, hold for 5, breathe out for 8. Relax. _

_But they have guns! _

Sunako clenched her fists, steeling herself. She had never noticed the Yakuza's presence until she had been involved with them.

She surveyed the convenience store, finding only college students browsing and using the copy machine.

"Excuse me," she said breathlessly, bringing her hands down onto the counter. "Did you see a pair of twin children? Blonde hair, one boy and one girl. They have a dog with them,"

The cashier shook her head. "I'm afraid not,"

"Are you sure?" Sunako pressed.

"I'm sorry, but I would have noticed them if I saw them."

Sunako ran. They hadn't gone to the convenience store for candy. They weren't at home – at least, Yuki hadn't updated her on that yet. She breathed raggedly as she stopped to pull out her phone. No missed calls. She flipped it open and tried to call Kyohei. She stared at her contacts in confusion. Then,

"I don't have your fucking number!"

She screamed and kicked a streetlight, putting a dent in it. She contemplated breaking something as the worst case scenarios stormed her mind. Missing. Kidnapped. Two small bodies found floating in the water. Two small skeletons found in the woods. She swallowed thickly. Yae causing mischief. Gin's crying face. Two small bundles of warmth clinging to her in their sleep. Tiny fingers learning to braid with her hair. Two bright, laughing faces.

A thought stopped her heart. What if the Yakuza...no, they wouldn't..._children_? Sunako started running, fear forcing her forward. To get to her, they wouldn't do anything to two babies. That was-

Her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"They're not in the park," Kyohei panted. "What about you?"

"I couldn't find them," her voice was small. "Where else could they be?"

"We'll find them, don't worry, Sunako," her lips parted in surprise. _Sunako? _"I'm going to ask around. Just, keep looking,"

She pursed her lips. "Yeah."

Right. She could not, would not lose her composure. The twins needed her, wherever they were and she would find them, whole and healthy.

A keening sound pricked her ear. She snapped her attention to where she thought it was coming from. She looked at her surroundings. The large stone wall and black gates spanning the entire block – the zoo! Hope surged in her as she ran, her pulse drumming loudly. The whimpering intensified. It sounded like a dog.

"Juanita!" Sunako almost laughed out loud in her relief. She scooped up the puppy sitting at the entrance of the zoo and nuzzled her head. If she was here, then the twins had to be near by.

Sunako rushed towards the path to the zoo. The gates were locked. She searched for any openings that the twins could have used to enter but found none. She took a moment to think, brows furrowed. If they were sneaking out and causing trouble, then Yae would be the instigator, not Gin. Yae would have gone to look for the fish, which would be in the aquarium.

Sunako slowly turned around to face the building opposite to the zoo. The aquarium, the "haunted" aquarium, that was no longer maintained. Funded by the Mori family. Functioned more as an urban legend than an aquarium. Only visited on dares or by ambitious occult fans. She hated the place.

The puppy whimpered once more, burrowing her head into Sunako's arm.

She patted her head as they went down the stone path."We'll get them and then I'll pound them for giving us so much trouble,"

Her face twisted in discomfort. Stomach acid roiled viciously in her and black spotted her vision. This had happened last time, when she had went to the zoo with Yuki. Sunako shuddered, rubbing her throbbing temples. The building was completely dark, with no lights illuminating the path either.

"Shit," She tripped over a broken beer bottle. She petted and cooed at Juanita. The runt was shivering. "Shh, mama's got you," Sunako pressed her lips to her nose, not feeling as confident as she sounded.

The glass double doors were open. They squeaked harshly, drawing another whimper from Juanita. Sunako winced as it squeaked shut. Her steps sent up clouds of dust. She pinched her nose at the smell; old and fishy odor with a sharp, metal-like smell. The eerie blue glow from the tanks were the only thing she could see in the dark. There was filthy water in some of the tanks but nothing else. The worst part was that it was _freezing_. It didn't seem like there was any ventilation or air conditioning that was making it feel like she was walking around in Siberia.

This place was abandoned, so she doubted anything worked. She tried the flashlight, but swore at it when it gave one last feeble flicker before dying out. "Piece of crap," she stuffed in her back pocket with a scowl.

Sunako kept going straight, straining her ears to hear any movement or voices. Her ringtone shattered the silence with a shrill sound. Sunako jumped, heart racing. Juanita let out a startled bark.

"Yuki?"

"I found Gin!" Yuki cried. "He said that Yae is at that creepy aquarium!"

"I found the dog there, so I'm already here," Sunako glanced around warily, picking up a faint noise coming from ahead. "I'll call you when I get Yae,"

"Alright. Gin Toyama, you are in a world of trouble -and pain- once Sunako gets home!"

She pocketed her phone and sprinted towards the noise. She frowned when she met a wall. Sunako felt along the wall. She yelped when she fell forward, her knees hitting steps.

A staircase. Sunako ignored her aching knees and ran up, tucking Juanita in her elbow.

The noise she had heard was splashing.

The blue glow shrouded a walkway, which was over the opening of an enormous tank filled with several feet of water. In the water, small arms splashed frantically, bubbles and waves erupting around a small blonde head. Sunako froze.

"Yae!"

She set the dog down and dove in.

"Hold on!" Sunako shouted. Yae was five feet away from. She could make it easily.

Yae stopped splashing.

Algae-filled water swept over her skin.

Yae was sinking.

She dove under and pumped her legs harder. She could see Yae's shoe floating to the bottom of tank. Finally, she found her, eyes closed and hair swirling in the water. Sunako grabbed the girl by the waist and kicked up. She sucked in a breath when they broke the surface. Sunako lifted Yae up, patting her cheek, eyes wild with panic. "Yae, I said to hold on, okay?" Her skin was freezing.

Sunako swam towards the ladder leading back up to walkway. She almost slipped as she balanced Yae on her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and heaved upwards. Her shoes squelched with every step. Her arm muscles burned from Yae's weight. When she reached the top, Sunako laid Yae down gently.

"Yae," she repeated her name like a mantra. Sunako pressed her finger to her neck, checking for her pulse. It was there. She sighed, her exhale heavy with relief. Her own pulse was deafening, overriding every other sound.

Sunako didn't know CPR, but she had a general idea of how it was done. Trembling hands pushed down on Yae's chest. She pinched her nose and blew air into her mouth, alternating between the two actions. Yae didn't move.

"Why isn't it working?" she cried, putting more strength into pushing down on her middle. "Wake the hell up! Come on!"

Yae's lips were blue. The blue cast from the water was not the reason for her full cheeks looking blue. Sunako sniffled, wiping her wet cheeks without realizing that her burning eyes had nothing to do with the dirty tank water. "Yae, come on. You are a baby! You are way too young to die. Come on! Yae," Her lungs ached from forcing air into Yae. She sobbed. "Yae, come on, _please," _Her chest heaved, face twisting as she wept, her hands pressing down on the girl's chest.

Yae choked. Sunako searched her face, eyes lit up. Yae's face scrunched up in the center as she sputtered. Warm water dribbled from the corner of her mouth.

"Yae," was all she could say, propping her head into her lap. She patted her face. "Come on, wake up,"

The white puppy padded to Yae's side, her wet nose on her hand. The young girl coughed, sitting up against Sunako. Her eyes snapped open, then quickly shut as she coughed hoarsely.

"Yae," Sunako smoothed her wet blonde locks away from her face, clutching her shoulders.

"Suna-" Yae coughed, eyes tearing. She turned and looked at the older girl. "Sunako-tan,"

She vomited on the walkway, crying and holding her throat. Sunako held her as Yae cried and coughed into her chest. Her tiny frame shook as she cried. Sunako wiped her mouth and scooped her and the dog up and walked down the stairs.

Her footsteps made wet noises as she retraced her steps. Sunako opened the doors with her back and stepped outside. She inhaled deeply, expelling the stale stench from inside the aquarium. She pushed away heavy black locks of hair from her face. She gently rocked the child, patting her back in comfort.

"We're going home now. It's okay," Sunako soothed. "Let's go home."

"Sunako!"

A tall figure rushed forwards. Even in the dark, she could catch the glint in his eyes. His mouth parted in shock. Kyohei's hands came down on Yae's dripping, shivering form. He eased her out of Sunako's arms, cradling Yae to his chest.

"What happened?" He stared at her shuttered expression with wide eyes. Kyohei touched Sunako's cold face with a warm hand and trailed it down her arm. He held her wrist and tugged her to him, bronze eyes searching hers. "Hey, look at me,"

Yae broke into a coughing fit, jarring both teenagers.

Sunako inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. "We need to get her to the hospital,"

They started running towards the hospital.

"Did she fall in a tank or something?" Kyohei asked, his breath even despite the movement.

Sunako nodded jerkily.

"Good thing you're the best swimmer in our school, huh?" Kyohei managed a light chuckle. The shadowed look on her face made him frown. "Hey, she's okay now. Kids are like that. You can't keep an eye on them all the time. Accidents happen. What's important is that she's okay. She's going to be okay,"

Her voice was low. "She was my responsibility,"

They slowed down as they entered the emergency room. Kyohei hefted Yae up and yelled, "Get us a doctor! We got a kid who almost drowned and a Nakahara who's got the kind of money to fire any of you if don't hurry your asses up!"

Sunako watched Kyohei lower Yae onto a rolling bed and several nurses taking Yae down the white corridor. The front of his shirt was damp from holding Yae and sweat slicked his neck and face. He gave her a grin. "You look like the girl from that horror movie. The one who fell into a well,"

Sunako stared at him, caught between wanting to hit him or hug him.

Kyohei decided for her when he swung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest. He was warm and he smelled like laundry. His steady heartbeat was surprisingly calming to her. He moved them to a chair in the waiting room and put her on one knee, her legs between his so her side was to his front. She quietly rested her head against his collarbone. His face was in her hair as he spun some silky strands in his fingers.

Sunako was still soaked but Kyohei knew that no force could keep her from staying with Yae. Kyohei bounced his knee absently for a while until Sunako grumbled at him to stop. It had been cute to have her cling to his shoulders when he did that. After she yanked his hair for bothering her, Kyohei took her hand and started cracking her joints. That didn't annoy her, so he pressed his nose to her neck, breathing noisily and blowing at her skin. Her soft breathing hitched and he grinned when she punched him in the stomach. It left him breathless in many ways.

Kyohei leaned them back, gazing at her the creamy skin of her throat. His eyes clouded as he found the love bites he left on her, recalling his behavior towards her in her backyard. Kyohei had only been a little tipsy, not enough to be completely reckless. One thing led to another during their play fighting and he had her under him, her slender legs bare, her skin smoothed over her hipbones, her shirt risen to reveal a flat, toned stomach and the dip of her waist. Her skin was soft against his, her legs clenched around him, her own jewel-like eyes dark and heavy-lidded with lust. It was all he could take as he watched her pale, pretty face flushed from the alcohol and their tussling. Her long hair slipped over her shoulders and fanned out on the grass like the star-studded galaxy, black and glittering.

Now Sunako was sleeping in his lap. The puppy was snoring away in his hood. He knew Sunako had to be in shock from what had happened. He had his arms draped around her waist, moving his hand over her arm to warm her skin. They earned some curious and flustered glances. Two high school students, one sitting in the other's lap, drenched from head to toe. It probably did look strange, but Kyohei was pleased.

Finally, a nurse came out of the corridor and found them. She blushed at their position and mumbled that they could see Yae.

Kyohei lowered Sunako to her feet, gently waking her. "She's awake,"

"Yae?" Sunako mumbled, amethyst eyes soft.

"Yeah. Let's go," He kept his hand around her elbow as they followed the nurse into Yae's room.

The doctor frowned at them. "You aren't her guardians," She said, crossing her legs.

"I'm her babysitter," Sunako said, eyes focused on the small shape in the hospital bed. Buddha, she was sick of hospitals.

"I need to contact her guardians," the doctor said. Sunako gave her the Toyama parents' number.

"She's lucky she got out of the water quickly," the doctor said, her face stern. "It's bad enough that she's so young, but any later than ten minutes," She trailed off, letting them fill in the blanks.

Sunako ducked her head, shame hitting her full-force. "She was my responsibility,"

"Remember to always supervise children when they're in the pool," She typed on her keyboard. "We'll keep her here for another eight hours just to make sure. I need her information to access her record, if you please,"

"Toyama Yae," Sunako blankly listed off Yae's information. There were tubes and fluids running into her veins. Yae was pale, but her color was much better. Better white than blue.

The doctor looked her up and down. "I'll give you a check up as well. Come,"

Kyohei stepped out of the room for that. A nurse offered to take the puppy out of his hood, which he accepted. The nurses sat around cooing at a sleeping Juanita. It was an improvement from cooing at him. He called Yuki and briskly told him where they were.

When he returned, Sunako's clothes were replaced with a gown. At the blue tint of her lips, the doctor had hooked her up to some fluids to warm her body. Sunako swung her feet as she sat on the hospital bed, staring at the needles in her arm.

Kyohei shut the door behind him quietly, glancing at Yae to make sure he hadn't woken her. He stood by Sunako, taking in her withdrawn expression.

"Wanna play a game?" he said, placing his hands on either side of her lap, leaning over her.

She managed to look up at his face despite it being so close to hers. "What kind?"

He flopped down on her bed and propped his head up on his elbow. Sunako's face soured as she followed his line of sight.

"It's not a backless gown, you creep," She smothered his face with a pillow.

He snatched the pillow away, eyes gleaming. "Let's play something"

She arched a brow. "You're such a kid," She rested on her stomach next to him, elbows on the bed as she supported her head.

Kyohei flicked her bangs. "I want room service,"

"This isn't the infirmary at the Mori hotel," Sunako muttered, jerking his sweater's drawstring. He caught her hand in his larger one and looked at her seriously.

"I want dumplings,"

"I want," Sunako hummed in thought."Chocolate,"

His eyes darkened as Sunako ran her fingers lightly on the skin of his throat.

She wasn't thinking much, something that seemed to happen often around this boy. Her fingers traced up his skin absentmindedly, over his Adam's apple, to his sharp jaw. Violet eyes lifted to his bronze eyes, dilated and intense on hers. His knuckles were white over her other hand. Kyohei sat up, pulling her up with him so she sat between his legs. Black eyelashes lowered as he leaned closer to her. Sunako felt his hot breath over her lips. He said her name, his voice low and his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. He closed his hands over her shoulder, holding her in place.

"Sunako-tan?" Yae's soft voice said.

Sunako stiffened, eyes opening and darting to the curtain leading to Yae's bed. Kyohei's hands squeezed her shoulders for a moment before he got off the bed and pushed the curtain open. She couldn't miss the flash of disappointment in his eyes.

"Kyohei-tan," Yae's voice was still hoarse and her eyes watered. She touched her throat in discomfort. She looked happy to see their faces.

"Yae!"

"Sis!"

The door burst open. Yuki and Gin had matching expressions of distress and joy as they rushed to Yae's side.

"You're okay," Yuki wailed, petting her hair. It was out of its usual pigtails and fell to her shoulders in damp dark blonde waves. Gin climbed on to the bed and sobbed while he hugged her.

Yae smiled, weakly bopping her twin on the head. "I told you mermaids can't drown,"

Yuki's face shifted to anger. "You could have died. You're just a kid and you can't swim. Why would swim in an old abandoned aquarium? If you wanted, I could have taken you to the pool or the beach. Why would you do something like this?"

"I," Her voice broke and she winced at the pain in her throat. Sunako poured her some water and helped her drink. "I didn't go there to swim,"

"Tell us everything," Yuki demanded, the softness gone from his face and tone.

"You can tell us tomorrow," Sunako said, shooting Yuki a scolding look, lifting the covers up to cover Yae's throat. The young girl laid down with a cough. "She needs rest,"

The eldest Toyama crossed his arms and frowned. "When will she be discharged?"

"By tomorrow," She finished fussing with Yae's bed and looked up. "I'll tell you what happened,"

Sunako ushered them to her bed. Gin was in her lap and Yuki sat next to her. Kyohei stood next to her. "I heard Juanita, so I followed the sound to the zoo. Since it's Yae, I figured she would get in her head to go to the aquarium. It's creepy and supposedly haunted and it's for fish," "Liking scary things is your fault," Yuki mumbled.

Sunako swallowed. Kyohei scowled. "You were the one who let them slip past you while you were sleeping,"

Yuki ducked his head. Sunako sighed. Kyohei took her sighing with displeasure. "Never mind. Let's not point fingers. Keep talking,"

"I went in and found her on this bridge-type thing over the top of a huge tank. I guess it's the place where the workers used to feed them," She looked down and twisted her hem. "She fell in. I saved her. That's it,"

"I'm sorry for saying it was your fault," Yuki stared at her deeply. "You were the one who saved her. Thank you so much," His voice broke off as he started to cry.

"You cry so fucking much for a guy," Kyohei muttered and handed him a tissue box off the table by the bed.

Sunako swung her feet. "I'm still confused though," She said to Yuki. "Why wasn't Gin there? They always do everything together, no matter how stupid,"

Yuki blew his nose. "Gin told me that they had gone together, but he got scared of going inside, so Yae left him outside. Someone found him crying outside the zoo and he brought Gin back here,"

"That placed even creeps me out," Sunako couldn't blame anyone for being hesitant about going in. "It stunk and it was cold,"

Kyohei sat down next to her. "But why were they there in the first place?"

"None of us would let them go there," Sunako reasoned. "But I'm sure there are other aquariums around that we could have taken them to if they had asked,"

"Um, Sunako-tan?" Gin's voice was small. He held onto her arms, pudgy fingers warm. "There was a lady who told us we could go to the Mori aquarium whenever we wanted,"

The three older kids looked at him sharply, making Gin shrink further into Sunako.

"A lady?"

"What'd she look like?"

"She had dark hair," Gin looked away, brows scrunching in concentration. "She was mama's age, I think,"

"A middle-aged woman with dark hair told you it was okay to go to the aquarium?" Kyohei asked.

Gin nodded. "Sh-She said it was prettiest during the night time because that's when the mermaid comes out,"

Sunako's eyes narrowed. "What kind of Buddha-forsaken person would say that to a child?"

Gin looked down and wrung his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to go, but Yae wouldn't listen. I'm sorry,"

"We know," She smoothed his hair away from his eyes. "But when Yae gets her ideas, I told you that you need to tell me about them,"

He hung his head.

Sunako patted his head. "Yuki, buy him some candy or something,"

Gin perked up at that and hopped off of Sunako's lap. He grabbed onto Yuki's hand. "I want banana milk!"

"Got it," Yuki ruffled his baby brother's hair as they walked and smiled. "Don't worry. Your punishment is a lot better than Yae's."

Sunako met Kyohei's eyes. "Someone told them to go. The description isn't much to go by though. Whoever she is, she sounds crazy. A mermaid?"

Kyohei stroked his chin. "I have a feeling it has something to do with people trying to kill you again,"

She sent him a flat look.

"Getting to you through the twins, a warning maybe? I'm just throwing ideas around," He laid back down, reminding her of what they were doing moments ago. She was horrified by the heat flooding to her face.

She cleared her throat, scooting slightly away from him. "I did learn a lot from my time with Takenaga,"

Kyohei blinked at the distance she put between them and sat up. "What did you learn?"

"The one who got me to suck down a glass of blood thinner and got Reiko Morimoto to push me into a tiger pit was the Mori head's son, Ranmaru Mori. Noi Kasahara likes Takenaga but he doesn't like her back...I think? He's using me to get her jealous. Or angry, maybe. I don't know. The day I went to the market with him, Noi sicced her Mori grunts on me," Sunako rubbed her knuckles, which were still bruised from that incident. "So I've got two Mori's on my ass, Noi for Takenaga and Ranmaru for who knows what,"

Kyohei sucked his lip thoughtfully. "You think the Mori's are behind it?" He nodded. "Makes sense. It _was_ their aquarium,"

"That's sick," Sunako clawed into the bed, cheek twitching. "Preying on two kids. They go to kindergarten. They cry and want me to kiss their boo-boos and they have nap-times and they're picky eaters. They're babies," She shook her head. "More importantly, they're my babies,"

Kyohei played with the hem of her gown, his hand on her knee. Sunako looked at her knee, wondering if touching her was his way of comforting her.

"We don't know anything for sure. The only clue we got was about a dark-haired lady. That could be anyone,"

"If she was red-haired it would be easier to confirm it," Sunako sighed. "This is so annoying," She fell back on the bed with a huff. "Speaking of Mori's, I found out that Auntie was married to one,"

"Yeah?"

"Married to a Mori despite being an Oda," Sunako chuckled. "It's a very Auntie thing to do," Her voice was soft when she said, "She might have been pregnant, too. Before they got married,"

Kyohei whistled. "That would have caused trouble,"

"I tried to ask Auntie, but it was kind of hard to. I don't know if it's just a rumor or if she really was pregnant,"

"Check her medical records," he said plainly.

"Aren't those really hard to access?" She asked, perplexed.

Kyohei nodded towards the computer across the room. "You have her all her info, right? Just pull it up,"

"It can't be that easy," Sunako said, though she started going towards the computer. "It's got to be locked or something,"

"Step aside," Kyohei sat down in the doctor's chair. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "Shut the door,"

Sunako locked it and went to stand next to him as he typed away. He told her to type in Auntie's information. She was uncomfortably aware that he didn't bother to move, letting her lean over him. Most likely due to him being too lazy to move and give her some space.

"Got it," Kyohei said after shuffling the mouse. "How far back are we looking?"

"2004,"

He raised a brow but continued scrolling. "2004. Counseling for depression,"

Sunako bit her lip. "Can you find anything about pregnancy?"

They didn't need to look further.

"2003," Kyohei said gravely. "Miscarriage."

* * *

><p><strong>check my tumblr (golden-gengar) for deadlines for my fics <strong>


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